A Jumper's Guide to Returning Home
by panda8785
Summary: A follow up to Hey You, Electric Blue! After ten years, Michele and Lazerus encounter a woman everyone is well familiarized with. After finding this person, they finally have a chance to return home! But where is this "home," exactly, when you've lived more than one life?
1. After Ten Years, We Meet the Doctor

**So, Ursalaminor808 is having me make the sequel to Hey You, Electric Blue! We've agreed to one thing, and that is if I get 10% of the last story's reviews following this one within the next week (which is roughly 16) then I have to continue this story. And me, I'm not one to back down from a challenge. So, 16 followers before July 22nd and I continue this story (and finish it. No quitting)... and it's not like I don't want to continue the story, it's great practice for more legitimate writing. So, without** **further adieu, let's get going!**

* * *

"My name is Michele Jay Walker; age thirty and formerly known as Agent New Hampshire of Project Freelancer. Of course, I must be insane. My doctor tells me that it's only natural for one to become delusional after experiencing loss, but they never tell me what loss that is, exactly. I couldn't have imagined that, right?" I took a sigh before returning my head to a camera attached to my old helmet, "Everyone says that I'm making up my own world. Well, not quite everyone. Lazerus doesn't, and neither does the Omega AI. They're the only two that believe me, because they've both experienced the same thing." I insistently tapped my fingers against the hardwood desk, scooting my chair forward a bit.

"GOD DAMMIT!" A shout echoed from across the hall.

"You alright?!" I turned my head so that my voice could be heard better by the receiver.

"Yeah! A fucking wrench just fell off the shelf and hit me in the head! It's fine! This happens all the time! get back to what you were doing!"

I turned around once more, returning to my camera.

"If it happens so often, how come he doesn't use a helmet." A low voice snickered.

"Very funny, Omega." I gave off a sarcastic laugh, pressing the bridge of my nose, "Mind being quiet for a little while longer? I'm still logging."

"You haven't done this in at least ten years. You'll be fine."

"Please?" I begged of him, waiting for him to be of absolute silence before proceeding, "The three of us have researched the idea of 'opposite worlds,' but have found most of the research... well... inconclusive. At this exact place in what we like to call the 'Plaxygymocide' universe is a popular one for the 'universe jumpers' to eventually end up in. Unfortunately, none of the jumpers we have found know how, and neither do we. Lazerus and I are jumpers, ourselves. I originally of the 'Macrosubtonic' universe and he of 'Leanoscopic.' At least, that's what we think. It's our rough guess from the book _Inter-universal Transportation_."

I took in a soft inhale, in a faulty attempt to replenish my breath, "Our first experience of jumping was to the 'Y.J.G.S.' universe." I let out a quick laugh, "Events happened, later sending Lazerus to a second universe... He doesn't like to talk much about this universe. Says that it's something that 'no human should ever experience, nor should they remember.' Even after ten years, minimum, he refuses to even utter the name of the universe. He's never been the same, though. He's always got his guard up. Refuses to trust anyone other than me."

"He... originally didn't even tell me about the middle universe. I only heard about it three years ago." I let out another sigh, wiping the left side of my face with my hand, "Sometimes I want the ability to figure this out, instead of jumping, and returning twenty, whenever I die. I just wish that we could get back home." After I said that, the roar of thunder went off, accompanied by a light tremor.

"West." Omega answered me before I even opened my mouth.

"Thank you, Omega." I spoke in a low voice, turning off the camera and standing up.

I left my small office, letting the pads of my feet touch the cold, unoccupied tile of the hallway. I haven't needed shoes in years, though I do wear them when going out in public, which is rare anymore. Outside, the heat of the sand does nothing. Snake or scorpion venom? Well, as a "leftover side-effect of experimentation from YJGS, it doesn't effect me, anymore. Of course, the main part of the experiment left me. My blood no longer gelatinizes, nor do I come back to life... not that I've tried.

You may be wondering about how I first died, in that case. Well, you know the second; Genetical Decomposition, I believe is what we called it. Well, jumpers have another ability, which is the indicator. The gene, we're all born with. Every jumper has it, but when the gene actually appears, they die. This is more common to happen when asleep. It's a way the body saves the age, for when you jump once more. It's sole purpose is to predetermine your death. About to get shot in the skull? The gene activates, saving their genetic material. Most jump within the next two months, so long as their body remains intact. More commonly, it doesn't. Immediately after death does the body begin to decay, so it's more common to see a jumper within the first two days or their death.

But the gene was not granted to mankind on the first day. It developed throughout thousands of years, and it's still very scarce to find in just one universe.

"We've got another jumper." Lazerus met me at the front door of the store, holding a tablet as he stood on one foot.

"Go prepare the interrogation room, I guess." I sighed, opening the door, receiving a cold gust of air. I always preferred going outside during the night rather than day. It was always much easier.

"Why bother with the interrogation room?" Omega sneered, "No one ends up know what's going on."

"Yes, but there are millions of different universes," I sighed, shoving my hands into my sweatpants, "and since they all run at different rates, some are bound to be highly technologically advanced."

"Technologically advanced was the last universe."

"And that wasn't the only one." I gave a weak laugh, walking in silence before I stood over a girl of freckles and brunette hair.

* * *

"Where... am I?" The girl spoke in a groggy voice, opening her eyes for the first time in this universe. Pink. It's an odd color for eyes, but I guess it's a possibility.

"Don't struggle." I sighed, pulling up a chair in front of the girl as she began to freak out, "We-we're not here to hurt you, I promise. We just want to ask you a few questions, and then we'll let you go."

She looked up at me, tears beginning to brim her eyes, "They why am I tied up." She growled at me, baring her teeth.

"More than you'd think tend to run." Lazerus walked in, turning on the lights in the room, "Michele, why must you always freak them out. This one's younger than the usual."

"Well, 'scaring' them gets answers out better than explaining," I turned my head around in order to face him, holding a joking look across my face, "of course, though, you always give people ice-cream before questioning."

"I do not." He watched me for a moment, "If you will excuse me for a moment." He turned around, walking out the door with a bowl in hand.

"You..." The girl spoke in a low voice.

"What about me?" I laughed, turning around to face her once again.

"You... have an implantation chip."

I felt my face sink, noticing how she watched me with a scaring intent. I reached for the tie in my bun and let my dyed, red hair drop down to the middle of my shoulder blades. I silently reached for the table next to me, picking up a tablet, "Let's begin with the questioning."

"But such a marvelous neural implant must be recent." She began to get excited over the basic technology, "Please, may I have a look at it?"

"No." My voice grew cold, lifeless as I began to read the words in front of me, "What is your name and hometown."

"I am from the gamma sector of the planet Kleu, a highly advanced planet of the Kappa nebula." She answered half of my question, flawlessly, and her sec of confidence made me forget that she managed to maneuver herself against the first half.

"What is your name." I asked again.

She tightened her lips for a moment, moving against the ropes that bound her hands before looking up at me, "I am Emily Gray; age sixteen."


	2. An Empty Promise

**Well, I guess I'm going to continue. The spark for writing has actually came back! :D. The second I posted the first chapter, I wrote out like three more! Now to find the will to type it all out... Quick announcement, UrsalaMinor808 and I have created a community (working on a forum). Both are called A Tale of Two Bears (You should go check it out!)**

* * *

"Emily Gray?" Lazerus gawked at the girl, trying to figure her out.

"Emily Grey." I muttered under my breath, vaguely remembering my own experience, "No, it can't be the same one. Remember?" I turned my head around in order to face Lazerus, "That other universe goes at a much faster rate than this. She couldn't be sixteen, if she was an adult last I saw her."

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but-" Emily started.

"Emily, dear, the grown ups are talking. Please give us a moment." I attempted to speak in a not-so-condescending tone, but my frustration didn't help. "Even so," I turned to face my partner once again, "She's too young. Even if she were a jumper, the gene doesn't typically appear unless in the twenties."

"Sometimes there are fluctuations." He didn't pay attention to me. Only jotted down notes into his device.

"If I may assist-" She began to talk once again.

"Give us a moment, please." I growled, ignoring her, "How could she have jumped. This has to be her first time, correct?"

"Not necessarily." He spoke in a vacant voice once more.

I watched him for a silent moment, "Yeah, I guess, since you spent thirty years in a middle universe."

His eyes shot toward me, a venomous intent, "We do _not_ talk about that middle ground." He hissed through his teeth.

"Now that I got your attention, explain."

"Untie me, this instant!" Emily demanded, thrashing against her chair.

"Fine, fine." I sighed, walking over to a shelf in the back of the room. I first picked up a swiss army knife, but took a minute, looking at all my other tools, "Well, could I do something before I release you?" I turned my head around to face her, malice reflective in my eyes.

"That would depend on the conditions." She turned her head upward, trying to act more stuck up.

"Oh, I just need a blood sample." I laughed, picking up a syringe and making my way toward her.

"Why must you scare everyone." Lazerus huffed under his breath, returning to his tablet.

"Habit, I guess." I sighed, poking the needle into her wrist and pulling back on the plunger, "Or maybe it's because I don't go outside that much, anymore."

"And whose fault is that?" Omega began questioning me in a distasteful manner.

"It's no one's fault, O. It's safe in doors." I sighed, removing the syringe, putting a cap onto the sharp end, and using the knife to cut her loose.

"Who's she talking to?" She asked Lazerus in a very loud whisper.

"The voices in her head." He responded, laughing a bit.

"Hey, Omega?" I watched the deep red inside the needle's base, "I'm going to have to take some time of absolute focus. Think you could jump into a computer for a bit?"

"That I will." He let out a dark chuckle, understanding exactly what I meant before leaving my head.

"God dammit, Omega!" Lazerus shouted, staring angrily at the tablet, "Get out of my device!"

"Once I'm done sifting through documents." The AI spoke in a dark undertone, throwing a chuckle into the mix.

"NO! THERE ARE IMPORTANT FILES THAT ONLY I AM ALLOWED ACCESS TO!" He nearly screeched, unable to catch the emptiness of the threat, "Michele! Control your pet!"

"Can you babysit him for just a little while longer?" I tried to stifle a laugh as I began to make my way toward the door.

"Why should I?" He sneered, sending a glare in my direction, the light of his device drawing circles to his eyes.

"Because I'd like at clear mind as I work." I stepped to the other side of the door, looking over my shoulder with a goofy grin on my face, "I hope you understand." And with that, I shut the door behind me, making my merry way to my office.

* * *

"This cannot be right." I sighed, removing my glasses from my face and rubbing the bridge of my nose, "She's too young for that gene to be revealed." I looked back up at the computer monitor, watching the code for the "jumper gene" stare right back at me. It's never appeared for anyone below twenty, at least according to our records. Yes, I realize I gave that whole, "even if they're shot" speech, but that never happened to minors.

I typed up an email to Lazerus' tablet, signaling Omega that it was okay to come back. I spend the silence rubbing my temples, tightly closing my eyes in a null effort to get rid of the forming headache.

"Are you alright?" Omega questioned me, concern obvious in his tone.

"Yeah." I muttered under my breath, looking up at the monitor. I saw the AI looking back at me through the blur of tears in my eyes.

"Your name is?"

"Michele Jay Walker."

"Also known as?"

"Agent New Hampshire... and... um..."

"You knew this yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah. Give me a moment." I hissed through my teeth, tapping my fingers on my desk, "Same initials as Royal Crown Cola... um..."

"Reign Cazenove" He sighed, looking back at me with concern, "After escaping the UNSC, I created you a new bank account under a new name. It's how you managed to get by without being found."

"Yeah." I hid my face in my arms, not wanting to watch the look of worry that stared back at me. The last seven years have kinda been a living hell. You see, this was about the time that any evidence of the experimentation began to wear off. I no longer had the same memory capacity as I did in the middle universe

It started with the names. I remember that I used to have a roommate. We used to go to some college in some state of the U.S. once upon a time ago... Any other information I cannot provide. And then I joined a group. We fought against some group in space together. Afterwards... I believe it was the box canyon... what was it's name? Brood Gap? Anyway, I joined a team that wore mostly blue armor. This group comprised of a self-appointed leader, a pervert, and an idiot. I remember that I used to know these names by heart, but now they're fleeting.

Once the names left, almost including my own, the faces started to go. Of course, some come and go. Every once in a while, I remember a blonde with freckles, an irritable, blue light, a red head that would do anything to win... I sometimes cry to sleep with the memories of such faces, but it's gone by morning.

"How about a little test." The Omega AI began to suggest, "Let's just try to jog your memory."

"Aight. Shoot." I glanced back at the monitor, watching as many photos moved across the screen.

"We'll start easy." He sighed, showing a picture of a man of brown hair, blue eyes, a lab coat, and a slightly irritated look on his face, "This is?"

"Lazerus." I lightly pressed my fingertips against the glass, chin still on the wood table, "This picture was taken in space... before... something happened. He's older in that photo."

"But that's how you first met him."

"Yeah." I let out a dry laugh.

"Next." He pushed the old photo out of the way, pulling up another, "What about here."

I examined a mass of freckles and obviously dyed blonde hair. His hairline suggested he had been a natural brunette. The two of us stood side by side, I in without armor and him in a dark grey with yellow accents, holding his helmet at his side. We were obviously not in the same ship as the previous picture... but we weren't the only two in the photo. There was another woman, of fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. She didn't look too pleased, herself, "I'm... not too sure."

"Yes you do." He pressed his hand against my own from the other side of the glass, "Just got to think a bit more."

"She... hates me." I spoke in a soft voice, tapping her face, "No. She _used_ to hate me. She no longer saw me as a challenge, therefore she was able to tolerate me more." I sighed, watching the freckled man, "The three of us, we went on a mission where it was just the three of us, before she saw a competition in me."

"Yes!" He held a tinge of excitement in his voice, "Which mission did we go on, then?"

"Um... I don't know." I moved my shoulders up toward my ears.

The AI gave me an audible sigh as he switched the pictures, "How about now?"

The photograph showed three people, similar in appearance. One was a woman of short, brown hair and pale skin. The other two, blonde haired and blue eyed, smiles brightening up their beaten up appearances, were nearly identical facially, but different in body type. The first was lanky, slightly shorter than the other, and ridden of scars, meaning his body must've healed wounds pretty well. The second was well-built and had scars scattering his body, similar to myself. The three wore black, compression clothes.

"This one is... West Virginia." I tapped the woman's face with my finger nail, "She died from the same thing I did... Her brother's... They went through the experimentation as well. The buffer one committed suicide... and something else bad happened to the scrawny one."

"They're her cousins," He sighed, switching pictures, "but you remembered a bit more of that... Let's have this be the last one."

The picture was of me and a man on an old couch. I was asleep, curled up into a blanket, nestled into the arms of the man. He had a caramel skin color with short, black hair and wore a teal (or is it aqua) shirt. His head was resting on mine, but he was obviously conscious.

"I..." I stared at the picture, tears beginning to brim my eyes... but I don't know why. I just shook my head.

"Alright." He sighed, the screen going black except himself. He sat down at the base of the monitor, "I understand how much you want you don't want to, but I suggest that you talk to Lazerus about this."

"Omega, I'm fine." I feigned a smile, supporting my head with an arm.

"No you're not. You have some form of Alzheimers disease, or maybe a tumor."

"O, it's just the experimentation wearing off."

"No, talk to the fucking scientist of your group so that you can get more memory!" He pressed his forehead against the glass, sending me an angry look.

"I'm a fucking scientist too, in case you can't tell!" I stood out of my seat, playing the glare game with my AI, "I just tested DNA! I had to read A's T's G's and C's in order to find one. fucking. gene!" I took a moment of heavy breathing, trying to calm down, "Get back in your chip."

"Yes, Ma'am." He growled at me, complying to my order.

"Alright." I sighed, picking up a tablet, "Just be quiet, alright. I'll tell him when things aren't as tense."

"You better." He huffed, his anger intensifying the buzz at the back of my neck.

"I promise." I sighed, leaving the room.


	3. Let's Make a Deal!

**So, I'm a little slow with posting this... sorry. School's back in session, so production is slowed (also I want this to be perfect).**

* * *

"So she really is a jumper." Lazerus laughed as he looked over the data-pad.

"Yeah, and I behaved like a bitch with her." I sighed, wandering around the store part of the building.

"There's a time where you don't?" He spoke in a teasing tone.

"Believe it or not, I actually do end up talking to people, other than you." I stuck my tongue at him, grabbing a cup for the slushy machine.

"Do you even consider Omega as a person?"

"Yeah? Well fuck you, too!" Omega spoke though my voice as I held my free hand above my head, middle finger extended.

"No need to be an ass." He muttered under his breath, throwing... something... into the microwave.

"He's an ass to everyone." I laughed, capping the cup of blue slush and setting it to the side in order to make another.

"Not you."

"Even me. He's the fucking AI of hatred and all other forms of 'ass-dom.'"

"Damn straight." The AI growled under his breath before transferring himself to my data pad, hopefully to help Lazerus find any necessary files. Though it's true that he sorts it so that the files are easier for me to find them, often it's a method impossible for anyone else.

"How do you find anything without Omega?" My colleague laughed, watching the screen intently.

"He's configured it for optimal capability." I shrugged, looking over the cold drinks, "Do we have any tequila left?" I walked over to the counter, looking over the assortment of bottles.

"You're not getting drunk, tonight."

"Oh please." I laughed, running my fingers over the many shapes and sizes of glass, "I just need a bit of a buzz right now. It'll help me relax."

"And why should I allow this?" He scoffed, looking up from the data-pad in his hands, "I am in charge of you until the doctors say you're fine on your own."

"Psh... Because we're in fucking Mexico?"

"We've been in 'fucking Mexico' for the past..." He stared off in space, "Fuck. How old am I?"

"Don't ask me." I let an airy chuckle escape my lips as I found the bottle I had been looking for, "I haven't celebrated a birthday in too long, and that was in a prison. I remember being forty... and then twenty... I'm thirty now, right? And you died before me..."

"Technically, I died after y-"

"Physically, you jumped before me... in both instances." I sighed, taking my own slushed concoction, that had been seventy-five percent full, and filling the remainder with alcohol, "Let's catch back up with our prisoner, shall we?" I laughed, setting the bottle down and grabbing two straws.

"Only if you don't tell her she's prisoner." He sighed.

"Technically she is a prisoner." Omega retorted before returning to my head, "We don't know her, nor do we trust her." He used my voice to communicate to Lazerus, a dark chuckle escaping my throat, "That and she's trapped in the basement."

"Don't make this sound like a crime." The post-medic dropped his head a bit, "This is regular procedure."

"... You left her in the basement. Alone." I glared daggers into the man before me, handing him the drinks in my hand.

"Yes. Why?"

* * *

I opened the door to the basement, pressing my fingers against my hip.

"Don't come any closer!" Emily yelled, lurking in the shadows to the room, "I have a gun!"

"Oh, please." I laughed, inching a bit further into the poorly lit room, "I know every single thing we leave in this workshop, none of them being a gun, so how about you come out here slowly."

"Why should I listen to you?" Her voice was like that of a hissing kettle.

"Because you're a jumper." I laughed, "If we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't have the satisfaction of knowing you're dead."

I waited a moment. Footsteps sounded from in front of me, then suddenly came to a halt. The shape of the girl appeared, but the features were missing.

She began charging after me, a knife in her hand.

I quickly took my gun from its holster, pointing it straight at the girl. The motion was nearly reflexive.

She came to a sudden stop, watching me with her cold, dead eyes.

"Listen, I warned you." I laughed, "Now, drop my knife, or else I'm going to have to to shoot your ass and cremate you."

"What if I want to hold on to the knife?" Her voice, colder than her eyes, had the ability to make my stomach drop, "You know, for any sort of self-defensive purposes."

I observed the girl for a while, walking along the wall for a bit. I put my other hand onto a table behind me, examining each item through touch. I found my Swiss Army Knife and slowly placed it on the ground.

"Alright." I sighed, kicking the knife over to her, "Now, give me back the other knife."

She hesitated a bit, but eventually complied.

"Now," I lowered my gun, putting it back onto my hip-holster, "that wasn't to hard, was it?"

"I still don't trust you." She glowered at me, shoving her new weapon into her pocket.

I looked over at the chair that remained in the center of the room.

"What's in the bag?" I motioned toward the satchel underneath the seat.

"What? You didn't rifle through it?" She spoke with a heavy amount of sarcasm in her voice.

"Had no reason to." I shrugged, "You're entitled to your privacy, you know."

She looked over to her bag for a moment, before returning her focus to me, "Spare transceivers." Her tone was blunt as she continued to study me, "They bind to the 'jumper gene,' as you'd call it, making it possible to create a trajectory during the 'jump.'"

"You figured that out?" I laughed, seating myself onto the ground, "We concluded that 'impossible.'"

"It's a very complex system." She sighed, dropping to the floor, "Took me fifty years to actually figure it out... and another twenty in order to justify the difference in the flow of time."

"So, this isn't your first jump?"

"Niet." She stretched her arms upward, "I've seen many different worlds. One where the Nazi's won World War II, another where all the water in Michigan dried up, and-"

"Wait. Did you say Michigan dried up?"

"Yeah, why?"

I felt a smile of relief come across my features, "That's my world! Tell me, what's its real name? Do you know?"

"Umm..." She stared at the ceiling for a moment, "Seventy-eight, Gamma, negative thirty-two Kappa."

"Alright." I tapped my nose, satisfaction across my face, "I'll remember that! Maybe even get it engraved on a ring!"

She watched me for a short while, obviously trying not to smile by the way the corners of her mouth twitched.

"Let me offer a proposition for you." She tilted her head to the side a bit, showing off such insanity I had familiarized her with, "You and that Laser guy help me with my research. We can travel the whole Quasi-infinity, together!"

"Hm..." I looked up toward the low ceiling, crossing my arms over my torso, "Love the offer, but..."

"But what?" Her voice became dark and venomous.

"Well," I raised the corners of my mouth a bit, "I need you to take me somewhere before anything else."

* * *

 **Getting interesting, huh? What does Chele have in store? How does Lazerus feel about Michele and Emily making a deal without consulting him? Why am I even asking these questions in the first place? Find out next time on _Controlled_ Transportation!**


	4. Controlled Transportation

**This one's a bit longer... there are actually a few jumps involved, so I'm awefully sorry if it ends up too hard to keep up with ;-;**

* * *

"So, let me get this straight." Lazerus pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a slow, irritated sigh, "You agreed to one of her plans, involving me, without even considering consulting me?"

"Essentially, yes." I laughed, slurping at my drink as Emily continued her rant on her invention.

"-same pain as root canal and child birth at the same time, if properly done."

"What, now?" My head shot up, alarms practically going though my head.

"You've experienced worse." Omega laughed in a faulty attempt of comfort.

"Very few times, yes." I sighed, watching the girl's hand as she passed the device to me.

"Can I trust a maniac like you?" Her eyebrows raised as she studied me.

"I've seen worse crazy." I laughed, taking the machine from her.

"I'll take your word on that." Se let out a hesitant sigh, handing another to Lazerus.

The device looked close to that of a large computer chip, except with buttons and flashing numbers.

"Did you not pay attention to my briefing?" Her eyes narrowed, anger tinting her voice.

"No, no, no." I let out a hesitant laugh, rubbing circles into the base of my skull, "I'm just preparing myself for excruciating pain."

"You're lying through your teeth!" Omega laughed at me.

"Not now." I snapped in as quiet of a whisper that I could manage.

"Alright." He calmed down a bit, "Attach it anywhere, really. You have me, so you don't have to worry about accessibility."

I sighed, placing the device over the skin of where I wanted it; outside of my right thigh, just above finger length.

"And then you press the red button." His tone was tedious, "Are you sure that you trust her?"

"Nope." I hovered my finger over the button, beginning to second guess myself, "She's kinda our last shot, here." I pressed the button, listening to a humming as it slowly came to a stop.

"That wasn't too b-" I bit my tongue, cringing at the sudden rush of pain that consumed the entirety of my body.

"Spoke too soon?" Omega chuckled at my pain.

"Not...Now..." I hissed through my teeth, unable to move a single muscle. I couldn't even unclench my jaw.

I watched the concrete floor, my vision blackening at the edges. I felt as if I were falling apart at the seams.

And then there was darkness.

* * *

I opened my eyes, body shooting upward.

"You alright, there?" Lazerus looked over me, concern heavy in his expression.

"Meh." I shrugged, reaching up to my lips to see somewhat dried red cling to my fingers. I looked down at my leg. The machine had burrowed its way through my skin, obviously latched to the bone underneath. Blood stained my skin, but the pain had been long gone, "I've suffered worse."

"Why is it that I believe that?" He put a hand onto my shoulder, laughing his ass off until his face sunk in realization, "Soo... How bad, exactly, is the pain."

"Well," I looked up toward the ceiling, trying to find my words, "absolutely indescribable." I gave him a smug grin.

"Shit..." He sighed, looking over the device.

"Better get some adrenaline going through them veins."

* * *

"Everyone know the plan?" Emily looked over us, twirling a syringe between her fingers, as if she's done so many times before.

"I guess." I looked at my own syringe. It was full of a silvery fluid, almost like that of mercury... but it's obviously not.

"Alright." She smiled a bit, "Set the 'Jumper' to forty-two epsilon of midnight, July second, then." She stuck the needle into her neck, pushing at the plunger, "I'll see you guys on the other side, I guess."

"See you, then." Lazerus gave her a quick nod, typing data into his right arm before jabbing his leg with the syringe. He then closed his eyes, silence filling the room.

I typed at the machine on my leg, injecting the fluid into my body shortly after. I then sat in a butterfly formation, closing my eyes and lowering my head.

 _Thud!_ The sound of Emily falling over echoed over the silence.

"I'm pretty sure that's far different from forty-two epsilon." Omega laughed at me.

 _Thud!_ Now Lazerus is down.

"I'll get there, soon." I sighed, feeling a dizzy spell take over me, "I just have to take care of something, first."

* * *

I awoke to a moonlit sky and grass against my back. Both of which I haven't experienced in a long while.

"I prefer the other one." Omega chuckled, "Every week, there was some sort of implosion."

I sat up, looking underneath me. Green, wet grass. I looked around. Other yards were more dead. I woke up on someone's lawn, that much I know. They must really care for their greenery.

"Of course you enjoyed that." I laughed, barely managing to get myself to stand as I dusted myself off. I looked over my arms. Small patches of rotting flesh scattered my tan skin.

This is what happens every time I jump, though this is the third, so I don't have a sufficient amount of data. Unlike Lazerus, and from what I could tell from Emily and a lot of the other jumpers I've met, I go sometime after obvious decay.

Typically jumpers have an incapability to jump after this stage, at least that's what we had concluded. If the organs are gone, or obstructed, the jump just doesn't work.

It's just one more thing that makes me special.

"You had your lab, I had my lunar bombing." He let out a sort of an evil laugh, "We all had things we enjoyed."

"Yeah." I stood up, checking that my gasmask bag wouldn't fall off of my shoulder.

"Is this-"

"Yup." I sighed, beginning my journey.

"Why are we even here?"

"I just… have to take care of something."

He went silent for a moment, "I understand."

"Good," I laughed, watching the buildings and I continued to leave the neighborhood, "because it's about an hour walk there."

"How did we even end up so close?" The voice seemed somewhat distant, now.

I checked my bag, finding Omega seated on the screen of my tablet.

"Don't know." I sighed, opening an application, "Could you do me a favor?"

"And that may be?"

"Set up a constant internet connection. Every universe we visit, I'm going to need you to keep tabs on."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow to me, "And what happens when I get too old for you?"

"Then I'll fix you, of course." I laughed, holding my side a bit. My body's weak, just like it had been before any of this jumping, "Just like last time, you'll end up as good as new!"

"And what happens when I'm beyond repair?"

I stopped for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts, "Then…" What would I do? I've known Omega for at least half of my life. No way could I be able to do without him… and it's not like anyone would just help a random person with no records on themselves, "I'll just jump until I find a universe that has good enough technology!" I spoke in a confident attitude, continuing my tread.

"And pain killers." He laughed, lying down at the base of the screen.

"Yeah, and that."

* * *

"Let's hope you know what you're doing." The AI dismissed himself from my data-pad screen, returning to the chip on the back of my neck.

"Yeah." I sighed, pulling the hood of my jacket over my head, "And it should happen right about…"

A girl came from the stairwell, rattling off in Italian.

"It surprises me how much you know when your memory of freelancer after is utter shit."

"I wonder the same." I spoke in a near whisper, "It just comes and goes."

"Do you need something?" The woman turned to face me, speaking in broken english.

Her face was flawless. Her eyes behind her glasses were heavy with emotion. Her hair mostly hidden by a black beanie.

"Sorry." I ducked my head a bit, "I'm just waiting here for a friend."

"Alright." She watched me for a moment, "Stay warm."

"Thank you, Miss." I nodded to her, watching as she closed the door behind her and locked it.

* * *

I waited a few hours before taking my hand out of my pocket, pulling out a key. I then opened the door, quietly shutting it behind me.

"Breaking an entering?" My artificial friend laughed at me, "Since when did you stoop so low?"

I immediately walked to the candle-lit dining room, fingertips brushing against the laminate countertop. I quickly grabbed a receipt of hair dye and instant noodles, scrawling on the back and sticking it onto the front of a refrigerator.

I then took a few quiet steps to another room. The door was open, lit by computer light. I peaked inside to see the woman asleep on the bed.

"Michele?" Omega's voice held a heavy amount of concern as I slowly proceeded forward, "What are you planning on doing?"

"My first jump, I woke with my glasses." I continued to approach the woman, "Though I made sure they were on my desk, I found them in my case, in my pocket." I reached over to her for a moment, hesitating for a bit.

"I don't think you want to try that out, now."

I reached over to the woman, pinching her nose between my thumb and index finger while covering her eyes and mouth.

She began to thrash around toward the end. All I could tell her was "Sorry," though I'm almost positive my words meant nothing.

Then there was silence.

"Hope you're proud of yourself." My AI spoke in a somewhat hallow tone.

"Hey, we're still here." I spoke in a relieved tone, dropping my arm to my side.

"Never pull stunts like that ever again."

"Yeah, yeah." I reached over the the nightstand, picking up the glasses case, "Alright, girl." I laughed, picking the girl up from her bed, "You're coming with us."

After that, we walked a few miles surprisingly unnoticed, and I buried her. I later found a place I've never seen people at, setting my device to forty-two Epsilon and killing myself for the third time tonight.

* * *

"Damn, are you okay?" Emily watched me, discontent in her eyes.

"This... is just normal." I looked down at my arms, the disgusting patches of flesh larger than before.

"It's a hideous kind of normal." Her face contorted before she turned away from me.

"Where are we?" Lazerus looked over the vegetation that surrounded us.

"Chorus." I responded almost instantly, poking at a vine.

"And how are you so sure about that?" She quickly looked over her shoulder.

"I..." I stood up, looking around some more, "I was here... I... we..." I stopped for a moment, examining a building in the distance, "We crashed here... Years from now."

"Oh?" She laughed somewhat dryly, "So you must know your way around."

"... Yeah." I dragged out the word, glancing between her and the satchel she held onto, "Yeah! There's a good place to sleep with internet! We could use it to gather research on this universe."

"That we could." She laughed, "I'd like to explore the area a bit, though. Could you point out the way?"

"Yeah." I pointed to where I was going to be heading, "It's over there. I'd be willing to take your bag, if you'd like."

She watched me for a moment, questioning me, "Sure." Her tone was hesitant as she handed me her bag.

"Alright!" I smiled, turning toward the building, "See you guys there!" I laughed, starting my journey.

"Stay safe." Lazerus called after me.

"Will do." I gave him a backwards wave, allowing my face to sink into a more focused manner, "O?"

"On it." Omega sighed, leaving the chip at the back of my neck for a short moment, "Alright. Finished."

I may not have all the data on what it means to be a jumper, but I do have a theory.

You see, I don't think that we alter a universe by existing in it. I believe that we are actually what shape it. Call it a hunch, if you may, but I do believe Emily Grey hated me the day we first met on Chorus, as if I had done evil to her.

* * *

 **Where will Michele's adventures take her, now? Tune in next time on: _Break-out!_**


	5. Break-Out!

Light surrounded me, nearly making me flinch. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't move. Sleep paralysis? I've heard of this, but I've never experienced it, myself.

An incessant beep went off in the distance, drilling its sound into my head. It sounded like a heart monitor, but there was no current way that I could be so positive.

My eyes adjusted better to my surroundings as I was able to better distinguish the white wall above me.

"Omega?" I spoke in a hoarse voice, waiting for my AI to respond.

He didn't answer me.

I began to thrash around, taking better regard of the restraints around me.

My AI refused to respond, and now I'm tied to some sort of board. This is one of the least fortunate events for me.

"You're in a hospital." Omega finally responded, but he seemed somewhat further away.

I turned my head to see the heart monitor, Omega seated at the base.

"You do not know how relieved I am to see you." I laughed, watching as he leaned his head against the edge of the monitor.

"You've been in a coma for two months, after you pulled that stunt." He sighed, "After those restraints are off, you're going to have to find your shit and run like holy hell."

"Wait." I spoke in a somewhat groggy tone, "Why the hell are you even there?"

"They ripped my chip out of you." He sighed, "Said it was evidence to a case-"

"Which is why I'm bound, huh?" I moved my leg a bit, verifying that I wasn't bond there.

"Exactly."

"Well." I looked over to a table, a large ziplock bag containing both mine and Emily's bag, "We're just going to have to get creative, huh?"

"That indeed." He laughed, "They didn't take the compressor."

"Good." I sighed, arching my back to bring my feet to my wrists, "Keep look out."

"On it." He sighed, phasing out of the screen.

I nearly got my left wrist loose, multiple attempts failing me.

"We got one heading this way." Omega warned me before leaving the screen once again.

I brought my legs down once again, trying to pull the blanket back up on me.

"So, Miss Walker." A male doctor stepped in, looking over his clipboard, "I hear you've recently been released from prison. Tell me, how can a little girl like you get damaged so easily?"

"I take a few life risks." I laughed, a grin inching up my mouth.

"That may be true," He watched me for a moment, "but you do look a lot younger, and significantly weaker, than what we've seen in your files." He began to flip through some pages, "Though you harbor the AI Omega, and your DNA matches, you show no other signs. No evidence of experimentation, no-"

"The experiments failed." I spoke in a flat tone, "Wore off after a few years."

"And how strange that seems, when we've seen evidence of the Freelance experiments more recently than just a few years." He furrowed his brow to me, "Now, I'm going to need you to tell me all the information so that I may write of it in the case against the Director."

"I want the Director to pay for his crimes as much as you do." I looked over at the clock on the wall, examining the date at the bottom corner, "Unfortunately, he's already dead."

He was taken somewhat aback, "How long has he been dead?"

"Some time now." I laughed, "But that all really depends on whether or not you untie me."

"And why should I do that?" He crossed his arms across his chest, staring through me.

"Well, you won't get the information without my cooperation, now will you?"

He was reluctant, but he eventually complied.

Once I was free, I stretched out my arms, leaning forward to stretch the spine area.

"Now, talk." He took a step back from me.

I sat on my legs for a minute, angling one of my feet in order to increase my potential energy.

"Nah." I turned my nose upward, trying to appear more stuck up, "I don't think I want to, quite yet."

"And why not?" He was growing impatient of me.

"Omega?" I laughed, waiting for my AI to comply.

Suddenly, the lights went off and I sprung for the doctor in front of me, wringing his neck with my hands.

Eventually he stopped struggling. I ran for the door, locking it before making a mad dash for my bags.

I hastily grabbed the glowing, blue cube, not stopping to wonder why they hadn't put it under investigation.

"You're going to need armor and-" Omega started.

"I know what I need." I sighed, scrolling through the many items in the device, "Wait a second, I'm recorded as a soldier with MJOLNIR armor, aren't I?" I brought out my Venator suit, "I think we can get out of here without any hassle." I laughed, hastily putting the armor on. It's a bit roomier than I last remember, but perhaps that's because I've reverted back to my lanky form... I'll adjust it next I get the chance.

I put the compressor into the palm of my right hand, putting all my extra stuff in storage, before picking up my assault rifle and running out.

"Omega?" I wheezed, "Please turn off the microphone."

"Don't want people knowing how whimpy you really are?" He laughed, complying to my order, "You'll just have to put yourself through hell in order to get back into shape.

"Yeah. I. Realize." I huffed, trying to control my breathing in order to get more oxygen into my muscles. As of now, I'm just waiting for that runner's high when I can keep running and not be able to feel the rest of my body.

"Stop there!" Someone shouted at me. I did stop, but I turned sharply, holding my gun in front of me.

"Whoa, wait man." He held his hands up, "I was just wondering why you weren't guarding prisoner twelve?"

"New Hampshire escaped." Omega started speaking through my helmet, "Running after her."

"You okay, man? You sound a little different."

"Cold." My AI's answer was short, but believable.

The man in front of us shrugged, lowering his arms, "The boss'll get mad if he finds out your skipping on your job. You should probably get back. Some real soldiers'll work on finding New Hampshire.

"Did he just say I'm not a real soldier?" I grit my teeth, praying that my mic was still cut off.

The lights suddenly came back on, illuminating the halls.

"Lead the way." Omega gestured toward the hall we just ran from.

* * *

"Is that?" My words were lifeless as I stared through the window. A man of long, shaggy, blonde hair wore a straight jacket, curled into a fetal position inside the padded room. Zeros and ones were scribbled all around the pillowed walls in the same pattern, a blue marker with bite marks resting on the floor.

"Yeah," Omega sighed, "it's really a shame, isn't it."

I looked around, a bag of clothes by the doorway in. There was nothing close to armor within the room, itself, "We have to take him with us."

"He's probably really crazy." He sighed, appearing in an ethereal form in front of me, "He's been here since months after you last saw him."

"And that was before Blood Gulch." I sighed, looking back up, "Wait a second." I quickly pulled my knife from my shoulder, looking over the shining blade, "This might just work." I began to approach the door, putting my hand on the handle.

"Are you sure about this?" He questioned me, taking slight control of the armor.

"If he becomes a danger, I promise I'll kill him myself." I pulled the door open, watching the man in the center of the room grow tense.

I walked closer to him, not saying a word.

"Bring them back." He kept muttering in a soft voice as I sat close to him, "Bring them back. Bring them back."

I lifted his chin up a bit, watching a fear began to strike his fading blue eyes.

I held the blade to his cheek, making a small, straight cut.

Before my eyes, the wound bled, making my heart sink... but after a few moments, it healed.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE PART OF YOUR EXPERIMENTS, ANYMORE!" He shouted at me, watching me with pain-stricken eyes.

"Alec, calm down." I laughed, relief overflowing in me.

He stopped for a moment, a pained smile curling against his lips as if he hadn't for a long time. But that moment faded as his face sunk again, "No, this is another lie!" He cried, holding his head.

"Damn. Crazy doesn't come in any other color, now does it?" I sighed, taking off my helmet.

"You-"

"Look a little different?" I handed him my helmet, taking my knife to the arms of his straight jacket, "We need to get out of here." I pulled onto his clothed arm, "Hope you're ready to run!"

"That I'll do." He laughed hesitantly, probably not too sure this is really me. What even happened to him? I guess only time can tell.

* * *

 **What did happen to this blonde-haired boy? What are they going to do next? Tune in next time for _Chapter 6: Disgiest_ (Yes, the spelling is intentional. Please do not correct me).**


	6. Disgiest

**First, let me explain the title. First off, at the end, they talk about disguises. A geist is a spirit, and since Alec seems more like a shadow of a man than his original self, that's the joke in here... also space newts are terrifying...**

* * *

We kept running until the eventuality that we couldn't anymore.

"Where... the hell... are we?" I wheezed, prying the armor off of me. Although I can't feel it, I swear I've been shot.

"Some off-record planet." Omega spoke in a low voice.

Alec screeched, ripping my helmet from his head.

"You do realize you have an implant, right?" The AI let out a dark chuckle through the man's mouth, not matching with the look of fear in his eyes.

"Omega!" I snapped.

The AI hovered over my armor, a bored expression against his face of data, "You're no fun, you know that, right?" He pouted, pulling out some gauze and other medical supplies from compression.

I placed my hand on my shoulder, pulling it back for a second to see a crimson red, "Well shit." I sighed, leaning forward a bit. I looked over at Alec, who still continued his attempt to catch his breath, "He has an older brother and younger cousin, right?"

"Twin brother, older cousin." Omega corrected me, motioning toward the first aid kit.

"Met him on the streets?"

"Mother of Invention."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The blonde man's eyes dropped. No matter how I remember him, he's not the same. No, he's just a shadow of what once was.

I looked over the white jacket that he wore, "Do you not have a shirt under that?" I laughed a bit. Yeah, he obviously had pants on, but I remember the boy's lanky figure.

"No, I do." He looked off to the side, voice still empty, "This just keeps me warm."

"Well..." I looked down at my bloody hand, my vision growing black at the edges. I could just die. Omega would set the thing to just bring me back here immediately after... but how would that effect Alec's sanity? He was probably in there for a reason, "Could you help me get the bullet out?" I forced a smile, cringing a bit at the pain.

He looked behind us for a moment, then looked back at me, "This isn't real?"

"Why would it not be real?" My eyes narrowed as I tried to prop myself up.

"Your blood's not-"

"That's because I'm not super-human, anymore." I laughed a bit weakly, "Body rejected it after some time of not needing it. I'm just an almost regular human, afraid of death, so can you please help a friend out?"

"What makes you 'almost regular,' in this case." He took a step forward, hesitating before any others.

Well, there's the jumping bit. I think that's fairly abnormal, "Immunity to scorpion venom?" That's right. That and a better heat resistance are the only two things that I got from the experiment. Hey, I probably had those since the first day of the project, but I at least have it.

"Immunity to scorpion venom." He repeated me for a moment, some boredom and doubt mixed into his tone.

"Got a problem with that?" I tried to lift my eyebrows up, but they felt too heavy. At this state, there's no way I'm going to make it.

He watched me carefully, opening his mouth and then closing it once again, "Fine." He sighed, slipping out of his jacket. Paired with his baggy white pants, he wore a black compression shirt that showed off his surprisingly strong arms and sixpack.

"Shit, boy! How'd you get strong!" I was shocked. It was a physical impossibility for this boy to grow any stronger than how I last saw him. It was some disease or something that ate his muscles at the same rate they where healed... at least that's what Lazerus told me.

"Genetic manipulation." He sighed, walking up to me, "I don't like it, but the scientists wanted to find the cure for a decomposition stigma." He knelt down next to me, picking up the knife, "And because of that, the healing gene came into play. Every time you move, your muscles tear. And in my case, every time a muscle tears, it repairs." His fingers brushed against my collar bone, causing a burning sensation.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" I shouted, flinching at the pain. Why would this happen, and why now?

He sat there, watching me for a moment as I curled over in pain. It was absolutely unbearable, as if I was being burned alive.

After so long, it had stopped. Surprisingly, I felt almost normal. Almost.

"Well then, looks like you don't need help?" He raised his eyebrows, confusion across his features.

"And why is that?" I sneered, brushing my hair from my face, "I still have a bullet in my-" I stopped myself as I looked down at the ground, a small, collapsed piece of metal resting there.

"The hell?" Omega spoke on a low, somewhat confused tone.

I tapped my shoulder for a second. It didn't hurt. In fact there was no wound.

"What the hell?" I muttered under my breath, looking back up to Alec.

I quickly took the knife in his hand, tearing a straight line through my hand. It just bled... and I had torn through an artery.

"How the hell did..." I glanced at the man's hands, reaching over to touch him for a second. I flinched the second we came in contact. The burning went through my body once again, but it was a bit more dull. Still felt like hell.

Once that was over, I looked back at my hand. It was healed. This is nearly impossible... the again, a lot of my life consists of impossibilities

"Is... is that you doing that?" I watched Alec, absolutely confused.

"I don't have the capability for this." He looked back and forth between my face, hand, and shoulder, "Come on, if I was able to do this, you probably would've died less."

"You don't know that." I laughed somewhat hesitantly, not sure if I should be glad or scared of this, "We-we never really figured out how to use these abilities to there full potent-"

"But you and I both know they hold an internal effect. Not external."

"But how d-"

No one in the project had a reaction to external sources." He reached over to me, but stopped with the realization of what's going on, "But you are Zero..."

"And what the hell's that supposed to mean?" I pulled my bag out of compression, looking over the contents to just realize that I had still been in hospital garb.

I felt my face go red as I held the bag closer, "I-I... Answer that in a few minutes!" And I rushed to change behind a tree.

* * *

"Damn space newts." I rubbed my hip as I came out of my hiding spot, wearing a black, long-sleeved compression shirt with the letters " **UNSC** " in bold white. Grey sweatpants were paired with this outfit, the same letters in aqua at my right.

"Did you seriously get bit?" He laughed, sitting next to my helmet with Omega floating above.

"Yeah, damn things have razor sharp teeth." I sighed, reaching out to him, "Touch me again?"

"You're being a masochist." He looked up at my hand, "We don't even understand what's going on and you double over every time."

"Fine if you don't want to." I laughed, walking by him and ruffling his shaggy hair.

A wave of pain went through me before I fell to my knees, clenching my teeth.

"Did you seriously expect any different?" Omega hovered over my face, laughing at my pain.

"Not... Now." I growled, trying to overcome my lockjaw.

Omega waited until I was well until he spoke up again, "Now, first you guys need to get to the city and get some clothes."

"Don't have that much money, brainiac." I laughed.

"Just checked your balance. Yes you do." He phased out for a quick moment before returning before us, "Chele, you're going to have to use your data-pad and let them scan the code I gave you. It'll redirect you to Reign Cazenove's account."

"Now who's the 'dweeb with a data-pad?'" Alec stuck his tongue out at me.

I pulled my sleeve over my hand before quickly punching him in the arm. He just took it. Now I know how much more training I have to go through.

"What's the closest town?" I sighed, rolling my sleeve back up.

"Unfortunately, we need to go three towns over." He flickered out again, appearing at my right in order to use my compressor as a monitor. A warthog appeared on the screen.

"Shotgun!" I laughed.

"Shotgun! Fuck!" Alec cursed under his breath.

"Alright." I sighed, watching the displayed image become designed in a way of my liking, "When can we get started?"

* * *

 **Tune in next time for _Chapter 7: Lies_**


	7. Lies

"Is any of this really necessary?" Alec looked over the clothes that hung from the hangers.

"Well, considering you only have one pair." I sighed, looking in the mirror as I held a shirt in front of my body, "And besides, I need could use a few more."

"Can we just hurry up and get out?" He spoke in a low, timid voice, "The cashier's been looking at us funny since we got here."

I looked up at the top-right corner of the mirror to see the man that had been running this building. He had his brown hair cut into a crew-cut fashion and sported these strange, purple eyes that looked like they have seen shit go down. "We're the only people here. He just wants to make sure we don't steal anything."

"We're not going to steal anything, though." He muttered, holding a shirt against his skin.

"Store clerks have a good reason to be concerned." I laughed, picking up a new pair, "When I was little, my family went Athens and I spilled a bottle of Coke on an olive-wood table."

"Greece exploded fifty years before I was born." He sighed, holding his clothes close. Two pairs of pants, two shorts, three tees, and two muscle shirts.

"So it did." I held three long-sleeved shirts, one of which had holes at the elbows, a pair of compression pants, two tees, two tank tops, five short shorts, one pair of shorts with longer legs, and a pair of jeans, "You want to hit up the shoe store, afterward?" I began to walk toward the register.

He looked down at his bare feet, wiggling his toes for a moment before following me.

"Will this be all?" The merchant asked of me as he put my clothes in the bag, first.

"That it will." I laughed, opening my data-pad and handing it to the man.

He scanned it quickly and began pressing buttons in his computer before putting Alec's new articles of clothing in the bag with mine.

"Alright." The man sighed, handing my the bag of goods. As his fingers briefly brushed against mine, I began to hear a buzz in my ear and feel a brief pain in my eyes, "You have a good da-" He stopped for a moment, his face contorting in disgust, "Never come back here, you scum." He dropped the bag, it falling to my side due to my grip, "We don't serve the likes of you."

"Rude." I huffed, taking my device and storming out. Alec followed my rear, confidence lacking in him.

"Omega!" I snapped as soon as we got outside, holding the data-pad in front of my face, "The hell! Did you do something to that man's computer?!"

The AI appeared on my screen, an angry look across his face, "Why the hell would I-" His appearance softened as he looked over me.

"Omega wouldn't do anything to anyone when we're trying to go through here _without_ being arrested." Alec crossed his arms, watching the monitor with me,

"I'm sorry?" I scoffed, turning to face my colleague, "Who's the one here that has had him in her hea- why are you looking at me like that?"

"Maybe you should see this, yourself." Omega spoke up, turning the camera on.

I couldn't believe it. Everything about me was the same, except one, small feature. My eyes. They were a deep purple instead of the blue and brown I had gotten used to.

"How the-" I bit my tongue for a moment as the color began to fade. After ten seconds, they were back to normal and the pain behind my eyes was gone.

"How did you do that?" Alec watched me, intently. He studied me, as if I were a specimen in his laboratory.

"I... don't know." I muttered, awestruck.

The blonde continued to watch me, slight realization in his eyes, "I wonder." He spoke in a low voice before grabbing me by the sleeve, "Let's hurry up and get to the shoe store."

He eventually let go of my arm and we hurried to the shoe store. It wasn't a big building, but its focus was gathered from one sign, "Hybrids allowed."

"What the hell's a hybrid?" I spoke in a low voice.

"How the hell should I know?" He pushed the door open for me, "I guess we'll find out sooner or later."

"Welcome." A man stood at the counter, a smile plastered to his face. I already don't like him.

"Hi." I spoke in a bland tone, shooting him a small wave, "Let's just hurry up before this guy kicks us out, too."

"Yeah." He sighed, walking over to the sign the had the 10 1/2 in bold.

I hustled over to my size, women's 8.

"Here's the boxes you asked for, Sir!" A woman rushed through the building, bumping into me. A quick pain rushed through my body as I fell to the floor, the sound of a bunch of things falling being the last thing I was aware of.

* * *

"Are you alright, Miss?" A woman sat next to me. What even happened.

"Am I?" I spoke in a groggy tone, reaching my hand to the back of my head. Something didn't feel right. I held what was once my hand in front of my face, panic beginning to rise in me.

"Stay calm, Miss." She began panicking with me, turning to face the shop clerk, "What do I do?! What do I do?!"

He just shrugged, not really caring. Alec was laughing his ass off, making me want to punch him even more.

"How the fuck did this even happen?!" I looked over the box connected to my hand.

"Oh..." She began to calm down, "So you're a new one?"

"Are you not going to help me with this _before_ interrogating me?!" I flailed my arm.

"Relax. Just calm down and it'll come off on its own."

I took a few deep breaths, calming myself down a bit... but it was still there.

"That should've worked." She sighed, lifting up my box hand and tracing where the skin met the cardboard, sending a dull pain through me.

The box fell off, but everything began to grow bigger.

"Oh no you don't." She laughed, her arm becoming see-through as she pulled me up. She held me up for a good amount of time, stopping once I was able to feel the floor.

"What the..." My words trailed off.

"I'll explain later." She sighed, her gaze avoiding me, "Just get you clothes back on."

"My what?!" My face went red as I saw every article of my clothing lay sprawled onto the floor. I quickly rushed to pick them up and hide in the bathroom.

* * *

"My name is Lilith." The woman held a broad smile across her face. She looked only a little younger than me. Probably eighteen, "And this is my brother, Zachariah." He looked roughly the same age as her. Twins? No. They don't look alike in any which way.

"It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." I smiled as convincingly as I could muster, holding my arms close to my side, "My name is Michele, and my friend's Alec."

"You guys are just friends?" She laughed, "What? You've got to be twenty years apart! I've never seen people of that age difference be 'just friends.' You've got to be related or something!"

Is it bad for me to mention that I am at least seven years older than him, at this point? Probably.

"How did you turn invisible, earlier?" I remembered the incident from mere moments ago.

"Like you, the two of us are Hybrids." Zachariah motioned toward him and his "sister."

"Hybrids." I repeated the word slowly.

"It means we have special abilities." The woman said to me, slower that my words.

"I'm not dumb!" I yelled at her.

"We were two of few that stayed at the facility when treated." The boy sighed, pressing a button on his desk. A double-helixed hologram appeared above, in a eerie, blue light, "This is what a Hybrid's DNA looks like." He started, making the image turn slowly, "It starts with an impulsive need to take a certain pill, daily."

"A pill?" I stopped for a moment, looking over at Alec. The same realization in his eyes. I turned around, rolling up the back of my shirt, "Does it have anything to do with this?"

"What the hell does that have to do with this?" The woman sighed, supporting most of her body with one arm on the desk.

I turned back around, flattening my compression shirt against my skin, "Never mind." I looked back at Alec, who had been pulling down at the collar of his shirt, "You guys said a facility had been doing this?" I looked back over to them, "Which one are you talking about."

"Projectile." The boy muttered, as if not wanting to remember the place, "Projectile Industries is a place you never want to be. Let's just leave it at that."

"Hampsh- Michele." Alec put a hand on my shoulder, "We have to go. We're out of shopping time."

"Take some shoes on the house." Lilith stood up, scribbling something on a piece of paper, "Here's our contact information, if ever you need it." She handed the paper to me, a smile on her face.

"Thank you." I laughed, taking the piece of paper.

"There a limit on the shoes?" Alec gave her a hopeful look.

She looked down at his bare feet, looking back up with a smile, "Take as many as you need. Just don't take the whole store with you."

I looked around, noticing the register. I approached it, taking out my tablet and scanning the code that was still on it.

"Please don't mess with that." Zachariah snapped, approaching me.

I quickly typed in twenty thousand before he grabbed my arm. My body hurt once again, a low fire beginning to envelope me. He took a quick step, the flame dying immediately.

I watched him for a moment, awe in his eyes, "Hurry up, Alec!" I shouted, pressing the enter button on the monitor, "We have to get going!" I began walking over to the door.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He followed me, two boxes in his arms.

"Wait a minute." Zach ran after me, holding a small device in his hand, "Take this. We may need to talk a bit more often than 'whenever is convenient.'"

He held a small ear piece. It looked fairly new, as if he were expecting someone to take it. Maybe they were hoping to hire a third person, "Thank you." I sighed, taking the device and putting it in my ear before turning back toward the door.

"Anytime." He laughed, as we left the building, "You guys take care, alright?"

I looked over my shoulder, a goofy smile on my face until I saw him holding a small flame. Perhaps this just tells me a little bit more about myself.

"So, were to next?" Alec spoke up, causing me to return my gaze to him.

"Yeah, Chelly. Where to next?" Omega spoke in a mocking tone in my right ear.

"We get into the warthog, steal a ship, and take a one-way trip to a planet of choice." I felt a wide grin creep across my features before reverting to my more composed self.

"And what planet will that be?" My colleague watched me for a short moment, concern deep in his eyes.

"You'll see." I laughed, "Let's just get the ship, first."

* * *

 **Wow! Where are they going? Well, unfortunately that's the title of the next chapter. Tune in next time for _Chapter 8: Chorus_**


	8. To Chorus!

"Alright." I wondered around the ship. It had been set to autopilot to the next planet over. I just need to gather _everything_ before we land.

"How about this." Alec pointed to an open door of weaponry.

"Yes!" I rushed in, looking over the assortment of weapons and ammunition, "Shotgun!" I laughed, pointing at the shotgun that remained mounted way at the top.

"Put it all in storage." He laughed, leaving the room to investigate others.

"Alright, O." I set my molecular compressor down into the middle of the room, "You know what to do." I stepped back, watching blue beams of light scatter themselves, targeting each and every item, individually. Everything disappeared.

"Done." Omega spoke up after sixty seconds of disappearance, "It's stored and sorted into individual spaces."

"Awesome, thank you." I laughed, reaching down to pick up the glowing cube.

"In an hour and a half, you're going to have to look for Alec."

"Yeah." I began to wander the halls once again, "Can you run an inventory check, just to make sure that we don't overload."

"You emptied it before we jumped." He laughed, "And if you remove all the empty space in all the molecules on earth, it would be the size of a sugar cube. In other words, you couldn't overload unless you actually sought out that goal."

"Just tell me what's in inventory, right now." I sighed, looked down a hallway that connected to the one I was on.

"Alright." He muttered, taking a quick moment, "Aside from the weapons we just loaded, a toolbox that includes a battery-operated drill, a bunch of drill and screwdriver bits, a allen wrench, a monkey wrench, a rubber mallet, a regular hammer, and a soldering iron. After that, there's Chester." He paused for a moment, "And you're technically fifty. Do you really need a toy?"

Chester was a goldfish beany-baby that I when ever since I was a baby. It's one of the few things that I collected when I returned to my first home.

"Everyone has their things that comfort them." I let out an airy laugh, "I just had to cope a bit better without mine for thirty years."

"Alright." He sighed, "You also have your Venator class armor."

"You can drop that as soon as we find another set of armor." I glanced down another hall, the lighting different than the majority of the rest of the ship. I decided to follow it, trying to see where it will take me, "This ship is an old Freelancer ship, right?"

"You made sure of that before you stole it, did you not?" I couldn't see him, but I could tell he was trying to make himself comfy within the earpiece.

"Yeah. Some Freelancer ships hold on to extra armor in the event of an accident, right?"

"All I'm hearing is," His voice suddenly became high in pitch, as if to mock me, "'I decided to steal a ship from an old company I used to work for, but I don't know what supplies are even on here. I just wanted to fly in space!'"

"I don't sound like that." I huffed, opening a door to see a display of armor. Bingo, "This is obviously an armory ship." I stepped in, looking over the displays. Each had a monitor next to it with the class and size it's currently set to.

"Or a training ship." He laughed.

I stopped for a moment, "So, we have a fifty-fifty chance as to whether or not all those weapons we pick up shoot real bullets?" I looked over a set of armor that was white with orange accents, my stomach dropping, "Well, shit."

"They're real." He laughed again, "I just wanted you to understand that you need to think more about your actions rather than go by instinct."

"No, I mean this one looks like it's the only one my size." I felt a lump in my throat. The visor looks as if it had been crudely repaired, as if it wasn't intended to be used ever again.

"Hold up your tablet." He sighed, moving to my device. I took my datapad out of my bag, holding it camera side to the armor, "Oh." His voice became somewhat disappointed.

"I killed someone who wore this armor, didn't I?" I pressed my fingers against the glass case, "Weren't we close? Why would I have done that?"

"The Director was deciding whether or not he wanted you to become Zero." He sighed, returning again to the earpiece, "He just wanted to see if you were willing. It's not your fault."

"Sure it was." I sighed, moving onto the other sets of armor. They were all familiar, in their own way, "He was with me during that." I rushed over to another set of armor. This one was tan with silver trim. The chest had a round wound on the left. Obviously a bullet wound.

"That's Agent New York."

"Foxtrot Twelve." I laughed, quickly wiping a tear from my eye, "I remember him. We raised a shit ton of hell back on the M.O.I."

"Michele!" Alec began shouting through the halls, accompanied by the patter of running feet.

"I'm in here!" I yelled back at him, sticking my head out of the door.

"What the hell are you doing, here?" He stopped in front of me, panting.

"Come in and see for yourself." I sighed, returning to the room in order to look over some more armor.

He followed me, stopping in place as his eyes caught sight of a set of orange armor, accented with blue, "We snagged _this_ ship?"

"You have a problem?" I looked over my shoulder, slight discontent in my eyes.

"No, no, no. This is good." He gave me an airy laugh, resting his head on the glass, "This ship carried all the armor of the fallen. That means out of all of these, we're bound to find one in our size."

My eyes wandered for a second, noticing a few cases were already empty, "Once we get some armor, we have to make sure the rest are irreparable."

"W-why the hell would you do that?!" He croaked the words out, slight anger apparent in his tone, "Don't you want to honor those we lost?!"

"Of course I do." I began counting the empty cases, "And we'll honor them by not letting space pirates be able to use these against us." I counted again, biting my tongue for a second. There were five. That means me, Alec, Wash, Carolina, and one other. I looked over my shoulder to face my partner, "It's what Mex would've wanted."

"I don't think that's what he would've wanted." He sighed, looking back up at the suit of armor.

"Al-"

"Don't call me that, anymore." He bit his lip for a moment before punching in a bunch of numbers to lower the glass on the suit, "You said Washington and Carolina are on that planet, right? I don't want to be dragged back into Freelancer ordeals, so please call me be something else."

"Alrighty, then." I let out a slow stream of air, trying to think, "Well, I do need to call you by something." I looked at him, examining his features, "Thomas Quin." I noticed a pleased look on his face. He's considering it.

"Thomas Quin?" He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowing a bit as that stupid grin remained, "Yeah. I-I think that'll fool them." He returned his attention to the armor he had been applying, "Modify the voice module just a bit, and it'll be more believable." He glanced back up at me, "Perhaps you should have another name too, so long as everything Omega's said is true."

"Why the hell would I lie?" Omega muttered into my earpiece.

I stopped moving as soon as I saw the beautiful piece of work I had been looking for, "Oh, and what may that be?" I typed in a code in order to lower the glass, but it ended up failing.

"I got it." The AI sighed, leaving the device in my ear.

"Samantha Petrix." My partner spoke as the glass began to lower.

"And what the hell makes you think I actually like that name?" I spoke in a dark voice, taking the helmet off of the rack before the glass had fully disappeared into the floor, "Alright." I sighed, looking into the red and black Deadeye helmet, "Alright, alright. Samantha Petrix. We only use these names in the event that our paths cross, and trust me they will." I looked back up at the rest of the armor, quickly rushing to get the pieces onto my black, compression wear-covered body.

"Alright." He turned to me, putting on his helmet, "How do I look?"

"Like your brother." I smiled, watching how his shoulders sank. It's been so many years, yet it still hurts him.

"We stick to the plan?"

"Yeah." I sighed, sitting down on the floor, "In what case would we not stick to the plan? It's full proof." He gave me a look that I had been all too familiar with, "Mostly full proof." He kept watching me, "It will probably end up working."

"There you go." He laughed, walking toward the doorway, "I'm going to go see if I can find a good amount of supplies in the medbay." He waved over to me.

"Omega?" I sighed, locking the chest plate into place, "Are there any armor enhancements in here?"

"Quite a few." He laughed, "On the wall at your right, there's a vending machine-like setup."

"Yeah, yeah. Which ones are there?" I put on my helmet, it sealing with a hiss before the visor began to illuminate.

"Promethian Vision, Autosentry, Regeneration Field, Hardlight Shield, Thruster Pack, Holo-"

"As far as I can tell, all of them. Correct?" I began to grow impatient, the chest sadly larger than my own.

"I think you'd like the Armor Lock."

"I think I wouldn't like the 'Armor Lock.'" I spoke in a mocking tone, standing up and maneuvering to the said wall. I pressed a few buttons along the wall, a bunch of hockey puck sized discs piling up, "We'll use the Promethian Vision for now. It'll come in handy finding the New Republic." There were a few moments of silence, "O?"

"Sorry. A few channels are missing in this thing. Any transmissions you receive, I'll have to reroute to this one."

"Whatever it takes." I sighed, putting the majority of the discs under storage. I looked over the one that I wanted, "I remember these looking different."

The ship suddenly began to shake.

"The hell was that?" I spoke quickly, rushing the puck to the back of my helmet.

"Perhaps your calculations have been proven incorrect."

"And you _didn't_ consider making the calculations with me in the event of human error."

"Well, you seem like a smart enough girl... and you seemed very enthusiastic about your answer... what terrible man would I become to crush such happiness?"

I began to sprint for the medical bay, "You're gonna hear about this, later."

"Just find Arizona." He sighed, "Stay close to him and you'll heal. Die, and come back weaker."

"Don't worry." I made an attempt to control my breath, "We'll make it out of here in one piece. I can guarantee that."


	9. Indescribable

My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself alone.

I began to sit up, a sudden rush of pain beginning to consume me.

I looked down at the injury, eyes dilating at the scene. A long, metal pole had pierced my body, locating itself at the right half of the stomach area.

"Omega?" My voice was hoarse as I began to anxiously look around, "D-do we happen to have any biofoam left?"

"Fresh out." The AI seemed somewhat distracted by something, "Your partner went looking for that, remember?" No, he wasn't experiencing a distraction. This was irritation.

"Alright." I let out a slow stream of air, trying to find different approaches out of this situation, "What would Deadpool do?"

"Considering Deadpool can heal without the help from another..." His words began to trail off.

"There are three ways I can get out of this." I looked over the wound, tracing my gloved fingers against the torn metal of my new armor, "We could wait for someone to find us, but that may end up resulting in death... or we could somehow cut the pole, make a run for it, and hope the New Republic would be willing to patch us up."

"The latter seems like the better be-" He stopped for a moment, as if in realization of something, "Wait. What's the third?"

"You're not gonna like it." I began to laugh, my fingers beginning to curl against the metal, "We get this out, run like holy hell, and pray it's not fatal."

"Two more inches and it would've." He let out a sigh, considering all but the first, "If you pull it, you may not have the energy to get to your destination. Though, if you cut it, it could become a set back, being more to your body that you usually account for."

"And if I pass out, you can take control, right?"

There were a few moments of silence before my fingers ended up moving against my will.

"Unfortunately, this thing's in high disrepair." He finally spoke, "I won't be able to control much without the significant reparations necessary. Though I can send a distress beacon to the New Republic, in the event you cannot carry any further."

"Alright then." I examined the wound once more, hands still wrapped around. With all my strength, I began to pull my body up, gritting my teeth. Once I was up enough, adrenaline began pumping through the entirety of me. I quickly swung my body over, hitting the bar hard behind me.

It ended up crumbling under my weight, and I fell onto my side. I bit my tongue on impact. That I know, but it's currently not of concern.

I finally got the metal out of my body, curling up in pain. I rushed the glove off of my hand, reaching into the hole in my armor to better assess the injury. Suddenly, a searing wave of pain consumed me, my vision becoming black at the edges.

"Omega, we've got to run. Now." I rushed up, fighting the lightheadedness that had combatted me. As I began to put on my glove, I noticed the lack of blood on my hands, as if it had disappear... or burned off. It didn't matter, now. If I stay here, I become a dead woman.

* * *

"There it is." I took heavy intakes of air as I watched vehicles drive into a wide cave. I quickly tapped the side of my helmet, putting my recent upgrade into good use, "How do you make someone hostile to outsiders your ally." I pondered on the thought, turning off the vision enhancement, "If I behave like I'm in shock... that could work."

"I'm more concerned about why you're not bleeding out." Omega spoke in a low tone, sifting through all the devices in my armor, "Life support isn't functioning. The defibrillator's inactive. The only things working properly are the emergency lights and the enhancement."

"If the suit doesn't work, how the hell do you explain me being able to move." I scoffed, remembering my strength's sadly long gone.

"Joints must be broken, as well... or it's because the armor lock's inactive." He sighed, "Alright. Let's get back to your question. How do you make a hostile an ally?"

"Flounder run and have no weapons?" The pitch of my voice raised as I opened my molecular storage.

"That may be what we have to do." He sighed, the static cutting out.

I suddenly shot my gun, bullet going behind me. I let out a blood-curdling screech, quickly putting my weapon under storage and running for dear life.

I tripped at the entranceway, playing along with my mistake as I began to writhe on the ground, behaving as if I were being choked.

"Miss. Are you okay?" An armored woman spoke above me, a heavy lisp in her words. Her head snapped to a man of tan and teal as she kneeled toward me, "Go get Kimball!"

Success. They don't see me as an enemy thus far, and they very well shouldn't.

"Just take deep breaths." She instructed me.

I did as I was told, forcing myself to appear panicked. That is... forced until my vision was beginning to darken and my head feeling light.

"Stay calm, Miss." Se began freaking out, trying to hide the red-stained hand, "Everything will be okay."

Of course it won't. I'm bleeding out.

* * *

"It's absolutely astonishing." A woman spoke in a very calm manner, sounding somewhat distant.

I took a deep breath, sputtering in the process.

"She's awake." Another woman, the voice somewhat deeper than the former.

"How?" A young woman stood over me. Her armor was tan, accented with purple, and her helmet was held at her side. She had pearly, white teeth, brown hair tied into a tight bun, and a scar that ran across the left side of her lip, "How did you do that?"

"How did I do what?" My head was still cloudy as I began to look around, taking notice of the IV connected to my arm.

She picked up my hand, examining it, "You're obviously some sort of hybrid... I didn't think you guys existed, until now. How?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I sighed, removing my arm from her grip. It wouldn't matter, anyway. I can only use my power around others with powers. Kinda redundant, if you ask me.

"Let's not worry about that, yet." A woman, in complete armor of tan and blue, watched me. She held a healthy amount of concern. I'd understand why, "What's your name?"

"Samantha." I spoke up after a few moments of hesitation, "Samantha Petrix."

A man at the other side of the room stumbled over something, drawing my attention. He wore Scout class armor and stood over another in aqua.

"Do you have to be so loud?" The woman looked over her shoulder, yet the man did not falter. If anyone's suspicious looking, I'm glad it's him rather than me. The woman returned her gaze to me, "My name's Vanessa Kimball, and I am the leader of the New Republic."

"Miss Kimball?" I tried to force the emotion of success down for a while longer, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I have a proposition for you." She spoke suddenly, causing a quick smile to flash against my features.

"And what may that be." _Dead puppies! She's getting suspicious!_

"We just so happen to be in need of more soldiers." She turned her head around once more, watching the man in teal armor, "We've recently got the Reds and Blues on our side, but roughly have have been captured and we have one who's been unconscious for twelve hours since we got back." She turned to face me once more, a pleading tone rising in her voice, "We need all the help we can, if we want to win this war; if we want to survive. Please, can you help us?"

I looked over my arm, pulling out the IV before rolling down my sleeve and standing, "I don't know." I sighed, looking down at the hole in my shirt. The skin behind it and completely healed. It seemed nearly impossible... of course, unless Al had been around, "Under three conditions."

"Anything."

"First I need a new set of armor, and my old one returned. It's in desperate need of repair, but I would like some form of protection. Lastly, I want my earpiece back." I looked behind Kimball, narrowing my eyes to the man leaned against a bar. He hadn't stopped watching me since I mentioned my name, "That's it." I spoke slowly, my attention returning to her as I extended my hand, "Do we have a deal?"

"It's a deal." She took my hand, giving me a firm handshake, "So tell me, how do you see yourself helping out the New Republic?"

I let out a soft laugh, retrieving my hand as I began to approach the man of steel and orange, "Honestly, I'm just a geneticist." I sighed, looking over the unconscious teal. I know this man. Hell, I remember little bits of him, but he can't know more about me than he already does. It's simple to think about, really. I died, and it's not every day that you see someone come back from the dead, "I do have some experience in combat." I let out a slow stream of air, pressing my fingertips against his chest plate. I quickly bit down on my lip before moving out of the building, "The New Republic will be just fine. You're in good hands."


	10. Felix

"Alright." I sighed, looking over the set of armor that lay sprawled against the floor of my new room, "Looks like we need to solder this, here, and screw this, this, and this back into place, replace the glass-"

"Fix the radio. Replace those cables." Omega sighed, hovering over the new set of armor that rest neatly on top of my bed.

"And weld all the holes." I looked back down at my stomach, tracing my fingers against the bare skin, "How _did_ I do this, anyway?"

"I promise, you were long dead the second you hit the operating table." The AI proceeded to watch me, utter confusion in his tone, "Heck, that woman was just about to start the autopsy until that healed."

"Did I jump?" I lifted my leg up, pulling down the waistband of my pants in order to look over the monitor. Everything was how I had originally left it, "Well, then." I sighed, snapping the band back against my waist, "Let's figure out one problem at a time. First, we need some rosin flux."

A loud knock came to my door, startling me.

"Who is it?" I called, resting my hands at my hips at watching the door from over my shoulder. No answer. Perhaps they didn't hear me.

Another knock, sounding more like the banging of pots and pans.

"I'm coming." I sighed, walking up to the metal door. It took a little force to move it, the hinges being desperate of oil, before I saw the man that had been banging on my door.

"Petrix?" The man in scout armor watched me, his voice sending shivers down my spine.

I sighed, crossing my arms and leaning against the frame of my doorway, "I'm sorry. Do you need something?" I have only seen this man once, before the medical bay. We crashed... who's _we_? Me and Omega? No, there was more. The Reds and Blues. That's right; I had spent a few years with them... Then, of course, I died... Not that that has every stopped me before.

His head cocked to the side as he continued to watch me, intently... He was waiting for something, "You... Don't remember, do you?" He let a low chuckle escape his lips, making me take a step back.

"And what may that be?" I rushed my hand to my holster, now noticing that it wasn't wrapped around my hip.

"Well then," He walked into the room, making me back away from him with every step he took, and closed the door behind him, "let me jog your memory."

I looked over to my bed, quickly grabbing my pistol and holding it in front of me, "You're going to stay right there, and you are _not_ going to move an inch closer. Do you understand?"

He raised his hands to the back of his head, crouching down onto the floor. He turned his head, looking over the trashed up armor that I had been trying to fix.

"That's more like it." I began to grit my teeth, my index finger locking against the trigger. I'm not going to shoot... not yet, at least. I still need him for information. He only knows me by this name. Why is that? I've only had this name since not too long before the crash.

My hands suddenly became transparent, the gun sliding right out. I quickly scrambled to grab it, the result ending to no avail.

"Oh, that's why." The man began to laugh, remaining in place. It's obvious he's not here to threaten or intimidate me, but why else would he be here, "You know, you always told me stories of traveling through space and time, but I just assumed you were bluffing."

"Why would I be all buddie-buddie with filth like you?" I spat, my fingers returning to their solid form. I don't know how this happened, but I can only assume it's related to may body's insta-repair.

"That... actually kinda hurts." He laughed once more, growing onto my final nerve.

"Get out." I pointed to the door, sparks emanating from my fingertips before I brought my hand closer to myself, "Now."

"Alright, I will." He stood back up, approaching the door. Once her grabbed the handle, he looked back at me with some sort of... sad look. Crazy suites him better, "If you join us, you can still get your cut of the profit."

I snapped my fingers together, pointing toward the exit once more before he stepped out, closing the door behind him.

"What the hell was that?" Omega appeared above my armor, watching me.

I looked down at my hands, not quite able to explain what's going on, "I don't know." I sighed, the thought of fire beginning to envelope my mind, "Whatever it is, I think it stopped."

"Let's hope." He let out a sigh, "First thing's first, like you said. Let's find some of that rosin flux.

* * *

I sat in the middle of the cafeteria, not eating at all. I watched my hand, my mind dwelling on the thought of earlier. Focusing on that, I lifted my fingers and they went through the glove.

"This is very bizarre." Omega sighed as I returned my fingers to their original, more realistic position.

"Yeah," I laughed, turning my hand around, "but if we could figure this out, it could be of use." I looked down my arm, the armor nothing but tan. If I'm going to be wearing this for a while, I'm going to have to start painting some color on it.

" That is it! Everyone, get out!" A man yelled from across the room, pushing another in orange out of the room.

"Guess who's eating all the rations." My AI proceeded to laugh, stoping after I didn't react, "Do you-"

"I remember him... I just..." My words trailed off as I began to stand, "Nevermind. Let's just get out." I sighed, meandering my way out of the cafeteria.

"What the hell?!" The man in orange began shouting at the building, waving his fist in the air.

"It's a small rebel army, Grif." Another in maroon tried to get through to the orange, but ended up unsuccessful.

"It's poor customer service."

"You were eating everything!"

"Forgetting something?" A man spoke from behind me, causing my whole body to go rigid. I turned around, the man in scout class armor behind me with one of my shoes in his hand.

"G-give that back." I spoke in a low growl, snatching the metallic boot from him.

"You know, a 'thank you' would've sufficed." He sighed, extending his hand to me, "I must apologize for earlier. I was out of line. My name's Felix."

I watched his hand more a moment, hesitantly taking it, "Mi- Petrix... though, you already know that." I let out a nervous laugh.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you for the first time in your life." It's honestly not, "I hope to see you around, but I have something to take care of, first." He held his weapon in front of him, slowly turning around.

"Yeah... I guess I'll see ya." This guy. I know him, yet I don't...

He approached the Reds and Blues, still moving once he got to them, "Hey, something's come up. Follow me."

My disadvantage? He knows more about me than I know him. If I play this game, that fact could either be my uprising or my downfall.


	11. The Great War?

"How about... you." Captain Tucker pointed to me, my body flinching.

Our captains were choosing members of the New Republic to be under their jurisdiction. Simmons happened to be the only one still in bed, oversleeping as Grif began to comprise Red Team of women.

"Yes, Sir." I sighed, walking onto the stage.

And that was it. The army had been cut by one-third, soldiers divvied up between four idiots.

"Alright." Kimball let out a slow sigh, examining the groups before her, "For those of you who haven't, go paint your armor according to team names. Red, Green, Blue, or Gold."

I turned my head to my right, Grif's body becoming rigid.

"Yes, Ma'am!" I called out, no voices joining me.

Kimball watched my, her expression unable to be determined through her visor, "I enjoy your enthusiasm, Private." Private? Now that's a term I haven't been called in a long time.

"Thank you." I ducked my head, voice soft. I guess this isn't your run-of-the-mill army.

"You're a Private?!" Tucker looked over at me, irritation heavy in his tone, "I just selected a _Private_ to join my super elite team?!"

"I may be a Private, but I am no meat-shield, Captain." I spat out the last word, for it burned my tongue with its acidic flare, "I promise, I am a lot stronger than I appear." Though I can't promise I'm too sure of that. I lost my super strength too long ago.

His shoulders sank, body expression making him seem sad, "Yeah... just... don't let me down."

Caboose stepped in front of me, watching me intently, "Walker?" He finally said something, his voice upbeat.

Tucker's shoulders raised again, "Caboose! Don't you dare!" He pushed his partner to the side, fuming with anger, "You!" He pointed at me, his voice dark with a side of hidden regret. Of what I remember of him, I know I've never seen him this mad, "What's your name?"

"Special Attack." My voice trembled for a moment, until Omega hit the back of my head with my own hand, "I mean Samantha Petrix."

"Alright, Petrix." He growled under his breath, pushing my to the side, "Don't cause any trouble." And with that, he stormed off.

"Damn." Felix laughed, standing tall behind me, "I was _so_ convinced that lover boy would swoon over the idea that you're so much like her dead girl."

"What do you want, Felix?" I spoke through grit teeth, watching the man from over my shoulder.

"Just wondering about something." He took me by the arm, attempting to pull me to the side.

I yanked my arm from his grip, hearing a pop but choosing to ignore it, "No. If you have to tell me something, let me know right here." I looked down at my arm, unable to feel my fingers.

He leaned forward, close enough that I could make out a few features in his face. He had a long scar on his forehead, tearing through his left eyebrow, and ovals for tired eyes, "Kimball is expecting Green Team to be ready for action in a week. I need to get the 'OK' from you as to whether of not to let Locus know that you're alive."

"Locus?" My eyes began to narrow to him, "You mean the Feds' mercenary, Locus?"

"Hey, you've always been on our side. Be happy I'm still respecting you as my superior, Bitch."

I felt my stomach churn in anger, "Get away from me." I turned over my shoulder, looking for Kimball.

"You won't tell anyone our little secret." He grabbed my arm once again.

"Oh yeah? And what's stopping me?" Seriously, what is he going to do? Kill me? Because that's definitely stopped me, before.

"Oh, Sam. You're in for a treat, if you tell Kimball." He pulled me a little closer, "Because I do remember a few tricks in torture, from back in the Great War, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like to experience that before your time."

"What kind of torture, then?" My tone was skeptical, convinced he had been bluffing.

He looked over my arm for a moment, positioning it in a way that it made another pop, causing my whole body to writhe in pain, "Let's just say they're known to make waterboarding sound like a trip to the beach." He let go of my arm, nothing in his body telling me that he had been lying.

And sadly, I did not tell Kimball. I just couldn't risk it.


	12. Locus

"Shut the fuck up, Palomo." Tucker's voice was laced with annoyance, a soldier of tan and teal now watching me with a hopeless look.

"Normally, I do all I can to keep people happy," I started, returning my focus to the scope on my sniper, "but do us all a favor and be quiet."

"It doesn't look good, guys." Felix spoke up, breaking the tension, "They've really beefed up their security."

"I didn't see anyone of high authority." I sighed, returning my sniper rifle to my back.

"Because this could also be a response to the weapons I stole from this place, a few weeks ago."

"Geez, I wonder which one it is." Tucker and I spoke in near synchronization, are sarcasm on point. I looked over my shoulder, sadness apparent in his body expression.

"And this is why I had you bring the active camouflage." Omega spoke through the speakers of my helmet, "Can I get a thank you?"

I let a laugh escape my lips, "Hey, there's no need for you to be an ass."

"And there's no reason for you to be a bitch, but I don't see anything stopping you, there."

"Who're you calling an ass?" Tucker towered over me, sending chills down my spine.

"I-I'm sorry for speaking out of term." My voice wavered, my gut beginning to contort. I'm no longer the stronger one.

"Good," He took a step closer, I forcing myself back, "because remember what I said about staying out of trouble?" This isn't the same Tucker I once knew. This one's more frightening, and hostile, all because of one girl.

"We're going to have to go to Plan B." Felix held irritation in his voice as he dropped three weapons onto the ground.

"Fine." Tucker sneered at me, turning to face the mercenary, "What's Plan B?"

"We plant C4, we leave, and then we blow this outpost to hell."

"What?!"

"It's a standard hit and run. I've done it a million times, we'll be fine."

"There's only three weapons." I looked over the small arsenal on the floor, "There's six of us."

"It doesn't matter!" Our captain began to shout, voice cracking, "We came here to gather intelligence!"

"Shut up for a moment." I hissed, looking over the outpost at my right, "Listen, I completely understand you wanting to rescue Wash and the others-"

"We never publicly said their names." His shoulders went rigid, tone suspicious.

"Felix told me before we left." I lied, praying that if the merc was truly my friend, he'd back me up.

"Yeah." He too held suspicion in his words, "I felt that it would be better if the Private understood the situation better. She does tend to have troubles understanding the simplest of things."

"That's not-"

"Sam," He let out one of the fakes laughs I have ever heard from a human being, "come on. There's no need for you to lie, anymore. You can tell them."

"Just fuck off." I gave the mercenary the bird, my body snapping toward Tucker as I pressed my index finger hard against his chest plate, "Listen here, if you were ever a real soldier, then you'd understand that opportunities aren't just spoon fed to you," I took a deep breath, "and the outcome you want isn't always of your first try." I reached for his hand, stopping myself halfway, "I understand what it's like to lose friends." I sighed, dropping my hand to my side and balling it into a fist, "Hell, I've had to kill people close to me, and I regret every second of it, but in the last ten years, I've learned to accept that what's done is done, and I can't just go back and fix it."

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" He pushed me away, causing me to fall right onto my ass.

"You know, there used to be a day when people just like you would heed my warnings." I groaned, forcing myself back to a standing position, "The choice is up to you. I'm just a Private, in this army."

"Tucker, she has a point." Felix spoke in a more solum light, "Now, we've got one active camo unit. Tucker, that goes to you. It's a little damaged, so try not to run it constantly. Only when you need to disappear. Got it?"

"Got it." Tucker spoke with reluctance.

"As for the rest of you, that's up to your captain."

* * *

"Heeey, uhhh, what about me?" Palomo started after Cunningham and Rogers got into the suits, "Do I get a disguise?"

"No." Tucker spoke in a definite tone, "Palomo, you and Petrix will be guarding or escape route."

"Why the hell do I have to stay behind?" I spoke in an irritated tone, crossing my arms.

"It's because I don't trust either of you." Tucker turned on his active camo, him, Felix, and the disguised soldiers walking toward the outpost.

I took a few steps forward, Omega turning on my camouflage.

"Think before you do this." Palomo started, making me stop, "You're just about to go against a higher up's orders."

"No shit, really?" I continued to move, sarcasm weighing heavy in my voice, "I'll be back alive, don't get your panties in a wad." I went into a full sprint.

"Hey guys," Palomo started over the radio, "Petrix's following you."

"Don't let her!" Tucker spoke in an enraged tone.

"But I can't see her."

"God damn, you guys act like it's a big deal." I laughed, "I'm just surveying the area for threats. They won't know I'm here."

"Just. Don't. Get. In. The. Way." Our captain spoke in a staccato manner, probably seething in anger.

* * *

"Petrix. What's your status?" Felix spoke over the radio.

"Um..." I looked around, eyes drifting toward the lab, "I don't see anyone significantly threatening."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Considering that I have been a soldier for probably twenty years..." Ten of which I have been out of duty, "I think I know weak when I see it."

"Alright." He sighed, "Tucker, what about you?"

I noticed a reflective light making its way for the lab.

"Good. good." Tucker spoke over the channel, "Aaalmost done."

I stopped, one of the C4 inches away from my foot, "Hey Felix?" I took a step back, eyes glancing back at the lab. I had just investigated it, but I have a sudden urge to return, "How powerful is C4, again?"

"Very." He spoke in a cold tone, "Like there'd be nothing left of you, if you're close enough."

"Alright." I sighed, going to a full sprint to the laboratory. It's completely against the mission, but I just need to find out, "I was just curious, is all."

"Captain," Rogers took his turn at the radio, "we're almost done. Where are you?"

"I'm in the lab." Tucker spoke in a more eager tone, "Give me a sec."

"You're what!?" Felix shouted, voice raising an octave and hurting my ears.

"Dude, chill out. I got this."

I took slower steps once I was in the middle of a room, monitors everywhere.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" The mercenary was absolutely enraged by our leader's stupidity, "I specifically told you not to do that!"

Tucker didn't respond, saying something about a mute button.

I leaned against the control panel, watching the man in aqua. I knew him, but I didn't... and unlike Felix, I knew the old him better.

"Alright." The Fed spoke in a somewhat horrified tone, "The data is copying over onto a flash drive."

"Sweet." That was all the captain said, before knocking the man unconscious.

Of course, it's not because of one lost girl why he's changed. Carolina and Epsilon abandoned them at Crash Site Alpha, after that did I die, and now he's lost Wash. His whole world is falling apart underneath his feet.

"I gathered all the data, for you." Omega spoke in a more vacant tone.

"Good," My voice was hallow, "because I am about to do something really stupid." I watched the doorway, Cunningham entering the room.

"I surrender!" Tucker began to panic, watching the man disguised in Federal armor.

I watched them talk for a few seconds before looking between the flash drive and the back exit.

"Tucker!" I quickly turned off the enhancement, rushing to the drive and pulling it out, "We have to hurry the fuck up. Come on!

"What the hell did you do?!" He screeched.

I quickly turned the camo back on, rushing to the opposite wall, pressing my back against it.

Tucker watched the exit for a moment. He moved back to the control panel, quickly typing in a bunch of commands, "Shit! I am going to fucking kill her!" He turned his active camo on, rushing out the door.

I let out a slow, relaxed breath before hearing a loud gunshot. I looked over at the main entrance, a man in steel and green armor standing tall with a shotgun in hand. I pushed myself off of the wall, careful to not make a sound as I held my pistol in front of me, ready to shoot.

"We've been infiltrated." The man spoke in a deep voice, irritation evident in him, "Sound the alarm."

I pulled back on the hammer of my gun, but I couldn't shoot. This was the enemy, standing right in front of me... and I can't kill him. He knows Felix. According to Felix, I know him, and he probably knows more about me than I know of myself. Perhaps he even understands what the hell's happening to me.

I couldn't fire, so I ran. Everything after that? Well, let's just say I didn't get to safety in time.


	13. The Drive

Pain. That was the last thing I remember, before passing out. I ran. I feel. I endured excruciating pain. I went under.

I reached for my head, running my calloused fingers through my hair in a faulty attempt to settle the ache.

Sitting up, I felt nothing, but I recognized the tan and seafoam armor that rest about a foot away from me. My armor, more specifically my arm, had been detached from the rest of me.

I rushed my hands in front of me, one in armor, one not.

I stood up, forcing my nausea to subside as I approached the piece of armor, a black dust falling out of it. After shaking the substance out of the parts, I quickly reattached it to my bare arm.

I looked around for a brief moment, finding my helmet a distance away in the opposite direction. It had been plugged into a generator.

Picking it up, I noticed something odd. It had recently been cleaned, remaining fully intact, but a water mark had been visible at the top.

Trying to disregard everything, I put the helmet on, rushing to the way out of the mass debris.

"Omega?" I spoke in a slightly panicked tone, "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know."

* * *

"When'd you get back?" The reds and blues of the New Republic were gathered in a room. I sat for a while on a ledge, looking down at them through their open ceiling as a began to pry off my armor, setting them down behind me.

"What happened?" Simmons began questioning Tucker, who has guilt heavy in his expression.

Felix began to walk into the room, "Oh, I'll tell you what happened." He proceeded to approach the said man of aqua, "Captain Tucker here decided to disobey orders and and took it upon himself to recover a hard drive full of Federal Army secrets. A decision that not only failed, but cost him the lives of three of his men."

"Omega?" I spoke in a soft voice, placing my helmet into my lap, "Could you put all the retrieved files on the drive?" I held the flash drive between my fingers, searching through my compressor.

"Already done."

I pressed my thumb against the metal of the drive, "Thanks." My voice was weak; vacant to the thought of leaving.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No," I laughed, taking my thumb off, the letters MW seared into it, "I'm not, but it's more of a matter of everyone else's sake." I stood up, the drive slipping from my fingers, falling down into the room.

Felix looked up first, before it hit the ground, then it was Kimball, and I backed away before Tucker, Simmons, Caboose, and Grif had the chance.

* * *

"How the hell did you even make it?" Felix laughed, standing in the center my room as I continued to pack my bags.

"The only reason I even let you in was because I thought you knew the answer." I sighed, grabbing a knife from my desk.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not all familiar with your 'freak show.'" He turned his head in order to continue watching my frantic state.

"Felix, what you know may as well be the best information we've got." My eyes darted between the walls that confined me, "I- I mean, look at me. I have fire coming out of my hands. My body's able to go through walls." I rest my hand on my desk, cutting off my thumb. After a few, slow moments of blood and pain, it grew back, the old turning into a black dust, "And what the hell in regards to this." My voice raised an octave, sounding more like a man's.

"And I'm guessing you've met Locus." The mercenary continued to laugh as I covered my mouth.

I hummed a few notes, waiting for my voice to go back to normal, "What the hell does Locus have to do with this?" I lowered my hands from my face, body beginning to shake.

"You'll find out later." He let out a sigh, taking a step toward me, "Could you do me a favor and just hangout here for a little while longer. Please?"

"It wouldn't make any difference as to whether or not I'm here." My eyes began to narrow to the man, absolutely concerned with where this is going.

"Oh, it absolutely makes a difference." He put a hand on my shoulder. I wanted to just shrug it off, but my fear in myself wouldn't let me, "More of a difference than you know."

"Alright." I pushed him away, "I'm not in the mood for this. Just get out."

He watched me for a moment, shoulders dropping slightly, "Fine." He huffed, making his way out the door. Before leaving, he looked over his shoulder, "If you need me, you know where to find me, alright?"

"Fine." I sighed, shooing him away with my hand.

He finally left the room, closing the door behind him.

Omega hovered over my helmet, shocked expression on his face, "You're not-"

"God, I hope not." I sneered, watching the door for two minutes before lying down on my bed, in hopes to come up with the best solution for this situation.


	14. The Offer

A soft knock came to my door, waking me from my restless sleep. I let out a groan, rolling to my side to get a better look at the clock on my desk. One A.M., at least in Earth standards.

Another knock, louder than the previous.

"Lazerus Delano Trite, you gay fucker, I swear to God I'll cremate you alive if you take my sleep away from me one more damn time, you cocksucker." My voice was groggy, somehow able to slur the words together.

"Yeah, don't even bother romanticizing any of that." A familiar voice was on the other side of the door, sounding less filtered, "My night shift just finished and I was wondering if you'd like to watch a movie."

"I highly doubt there's a theater, here." I sat up, my fingers pulling down at my eyelids.

"I've got one of those 'portable dvd player' things."

I paused for a moment before deciding to open the door. A man of dirty, blonde hair, dark, brown eyes, and a long scar on his forehead, tearing through his left eyebrow watched me through the cracked door. He stood about an inch taller than me, shorter than most guys I've ever seen.

I looked down to the object in his hands, "They don't make those, anymore." I spoke in a flat tone, on the verge of closing the door in front of him, "Even if it's real, it doesn't work. They haven't made those since two thousand twenty." I began to shut the door, stopped by his bare foot. I could've slammed to door hard on him, but I restrained myself. I'm not as strong as I used to be. I cannot afford to get myself into any trouble I can't get out of. Sure, if I figure out how to die without a brain kickstart, I'd just jump. I don't really "die," therefore death is no longer a threat to me.

"I can assure you, this works like a miracle."

"Don't you mean 'it'd be a miracle, if it works?'" I laughed, making a faulty attempt to kick his foot away, "Listen, Felix, you really don't wanna see me angry. Can we please settle this stupid argument in the morning?"

"And what if there's no morning?" His eyebrows furrowed, a smug grin against his lips.

"Don't you dare get that on my mind. Those thoughts like to haunt me for hours." I leaned my head against the doorframe, waiting for the man to leave.

"What if I promised you that I've got a good one?" He held up a dvd case, black paper with some hand-painted symbol in the center, "V for Vendetta. You gave me this, a couple years back."

"Never seen it." I sighed, taking the case from his hands to look at the back, "Even so, why would I give a punk like you something so valuable, nowadays?"

His pleasant expression sank at the corners, eyes narrowing to me, "I only offered a movie, not an insult."

"I believe I've given you more than a singular insult." I laughed, holding my stomach, "I swear to God, English is the longest language I know, and out of at least one million words, I'm been found unable to string any together to express how much I just want to hit you upside the head with a chair."

"Oh please, don't sugar coat it." He held multiple layers of sarcasm in his voice, showing he was probably already fed up with me.

I looked over my shoulder for a moment before reaching for the light switch, "You can come in. Just don't do anything funny."

"Yes Ma'am."

As he walked in, I took notice of marks that crawled up his wrist, everything else hidden behind the long sleeves of his black compression shirt.

"You got tattoos?" I asked as I closed the door behind him.

"They're old." He sighed, raising his arm in front of him, "I'm tempted to get them removed, but..." His words trailed off.

I pulled his sleeve down, looking over what was written, "La morte non mi può tenere." I repeated the words, tracing my fingers around the image of a dying robin, "Death may not keep me."

"Yeah." He pulled his arm away from me, pulling the sleeve down his arm, "L-let's just watch the damn movie."

"Kay." I sighed, watching him sit on my bed and set up the device, "Could I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"You... offered something, saying I could get 'my cut of the reward.'" I looked toward the ground, my bare feet brushing against the metal floor, "What exactly is the job behind this reward?"

"The job isn't the matter," He let a slow stream of air escape his teeth, glancing up at me, "at least, that's what you've told me, when we decided to be mercs." He picked up a pen and paper scribbling something down, "It's always about the money, and this deal is enough to live the rest of our lives off of." He folded the paper in half, handing it to me.

I unfolded the paper, my breath stopping, "I-I've never seen so many zeros, together!"

"And that's a portion of the total." He laughed, "Imagine if someone were to die. The remaining end up loaded!"

I watched the number, smile creeping against my face. Upon realization, I forced my excitement down, "What's the job?"

"We are in charge of making Chorus uninhabited." He put the disk into the player, setting it down to his right, "Our employer, who likes to be called 'Control,' is an absolute dick, but he's rich, and rich is good to be working under."

"Making Chorus... uninhabited." I repeated, looking between him and the large number. My shoulders lowered as I looked over to my helmet. The money is a perk, but the action would bring me guilt for the rest of eternity. Omega would be fine with this decision, but what about Lazerus? Alec? My parents? My brothers? How could I ever face them again, after a mass genocide?

"Just think about it a little longer, if you have to. There's no rush." He pat the space next to him, "Come on. Let's watch this."

I walked over to my desk, setting the paper down in front of my helmet, "Alright." I sighed, body falling right next to him, "Let's hurry this up."

* * *

"Captain Simmons, Sir, I am begging you to reconsider." I held my hands in front of me, making an attempt the seem helpless.

"We-we've..." He let out a cough, to clear his throat. Perhaps I should've asked someone else. Maybe Caboose, "We've already finished recruiting for this, and are going to start training in an hour. We'd have to evaluate you, and we don't have anymore time."

"Please." I pleaded, "I want to be able to help."

He looked over his shoulder, motioning for Tucker.

The man flinched as he caught sight of me, running as soon as the information officially registered.

"You died." The aqua leader spoke in a hollow tone as he stopped in front of me.

"Never stopped me, before." I laughed, rubbing circles into the back of my helmet.

He watched me, checking me out up and down before turning to face Simmons, "Get her on the team and get her up to speed with everything." He turned around to were he came from.

"That's it?" I spoke in an offended tone, feeling like I know the only reason he's allowing me on this.

"You survived the fall of an outpost, blown to smithereens by C4." He glanced over his shoulder before continuing his trek, "I think you've proven yourself."


	15. The Training

"I have visual on the target." I held my training sniper close, watching Felix through the scope.

"Good." Tucker responded to me, "Where is he?"

"Looks like he's heading to Kimball's office." I stopped for a moment, zooming out on the sight, "If he gets inside, I'll no longer have sight of him. Sir, do you want me to fire or-"

"Fire when ready." He gave me the order.

I slowed my breath, preparing my body to stop all movement, and then I fired.

But someone stood up less than half a second before me.

"God dammit, Smith, you fucker!" I shouted at the man that had collapsed seventy feet away from me.

A bunch of soldiers behind me began to laugh as I stood still with a look of irritation, pen twirling between my fingers and eyes glancing between the pad of paper in my hand and the monitor that loomed ominously above us.

As soon as the monitor shut off, I turned around on my heel, shoving the notepad into Tucker.

* * *

"Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine," I looked to my left, watching Grif lazily tap his fingers on the ground, no doubt that Bitters is doing the same. I continued through my pushups, anger welling up within me every time I pushed my body up.

"You fuck!" I shouted, rolling over my left shoulder and slamming my leg into my neighbor's gut.

I got off with a little more than just a slap on the wrist, for attacking my superior.

* * *

Another video. Many mistakes were made, many notes had to be taken.

"You know, I can see how you're trying to do some justice here," Felix laughed, meeting me at the exit of the viewing room, "but I feel you'd be better returning to something you're good at."

"Murder?" I laughed, twirled my pen between my gloved fingers, "Listen, I am merely a cog in the machine. Though, unlike a machine, I can choose the direction I turn."

"Suite yourself." He placed a hand onto my shoulder, "I know you'll fall, one day."

I tapped my fingers against the side of his helmet, "In your dreams, Sweetheart." I laughed, walking past him to continue my search for Tucker.

Turning the corner, I saw Tucker and Kimball together. Of course, I didn't disturb.

* * *

I began to pack my bags. We have a short time left before the deadline, and I must be prepared for if we end up going.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Omega sat above my pile of armor.

"Since when were you concerned about my decisions?" I laughed, holding the deadeye helmet in front of me before packing it into storage.

"Either route you take, you cannot come back from."

"Well, I won't know the end of the road until I meet it." I sighed, reaching toward the AI to put my Rebel armor on.

"Planing on going out?" He disappeared, only to reappear a foot in front of my eyes.

"You got a problem with that?" I let a chuckle escape my lips, a stupid grin crossing my features.

"Do as you wish." He turned his head over his shoulder, moving his hand in a shooing motion toward me.

"Good, because I'm not going to avoid doing something just because you told me to." I felt the corners of my mouth begin to twitch.

"Just be sure to keep your sanity." He spoke in a more solum tone, "You haven't had a psychotic episode in a year."

"And I'm hoping to keep it that way." I pressed my fingers against my mouth, attempting to cease the constant twitching.

"When in doubt-"

"Go into isolation." I sighed, putting my helmet over my head, "I know the drill." The monitor of my helmet lit up, showing the world around me. I looked down at my hands, magnum in hand. I turned over my shoulder, making my way out the door and shutting the light off on my way out.

"Hello everyone. If you're listening to this, it means we're already gone." I overheard someone talk as soon as I reached the bottom of many stairs.

"Look, it's not you, it's us." Another familiar voice.

"Tell them not to leave the lights on!" Another shouted.

I turned the corner, back pressed against the cave wall.

Caboose, Grif, Simmons, and Tucker stood in front of a monitor, making a recording.

"They're going on this suicide mission, alone?" I spoke in a low tone.

"It would appear so." Omega answered me, a dark chuckle in his tone, "Want to sneak onto the car?"

I tapped the back of my helmet, my body going invisible, "What do you think?" I laughed, making my quiet trek to the vehicle bay.

* * *

 **So, I must apologize. This one isn't as well written, but I needed this transition for the next one... so... yeah... sorry.**


	16. The Escape

"We're going to have to find somewhere to refuel." I overheard Tucker, irritation in his tone.

"Ability to burst into flames, but you are not fire-repellent." Grif suggested, helping with their game of awful super powers.

"Five seconds bursts of super strength?" Simmons threw in a suggestion

"Bullet Attraction."

"The ability to shape-shift into bread. No consciousness of any kind, just bread, unable to change back."

"Um..."

The car jerked, coming to a stop.

" Okay, the ability to fly... North.

 **"** Eh, I don't know.

"What do you mean? That's a great 'terrible superpower.'"

"Yeah, but you can still fly."

"You can only fly North. It's so inconvenient. Once you land, you have to _walk_ wherever you're going."

"Mmm, I guess so."

"Please make it stop." My AI began to beg. Anger heavy in his tone.

I began to squirm, trying my best to stay still.

"What's wrong with you?" Omega laughed, enjoying my suffering.

I lifted my head up, slowly, looking at the gas station through the tarp, seeing the marine in orange run in that direction.

"Simmons." Tucker spoke up, "Could you do a supply check? We need to make sure nothing fell off on the way here."

"Shit." I spoke with a quiet hiss, pressing a button at the base of my skull. I quickly slid out of the back, crawling under the car.

"Yeah." The maroon soldier began to approach the Jeep I hid under; Team Blue's car.

The vehicle moved about two feet forward, crushing my right hand.

A blood curdling scream escaped me, Omega turning off my active camouflage as I tried to free my hand.

"Tucker did it!" Caboose shouted, driving the car more forward, exposing me.

"What. The. Hell!" Tucker shouted, approaching me, "You were supposed to stay at the base!"

"Let's keep in mind who was the one who understood how to fight, during training, Captain." I spat out, tears brimming my eyes.

"Walker, Walker, Walker!" Caboose rushed out of the car, kneeling down in front of me, "Oh, it is so good to see you again!"

"Caboose!" Tucker shouted and the blue soldier.

"Lavernius." I glared at the man, new anger welling up in him.

"Tucker told me you were dead, and I asked 'How could she be dead' because you are so strong and were living a while ago, but he kept-" This one-way conversation went on for a while, I nodding my head after every few sentences. What can I say? The kid's entertaining.

"I-I'm going to have to stop you right there." I laughed, prying off some of the warped armor around my hand. The fingers were mangled, and bone had shown.

"I'll get the bandaids." Simmons offered.

"And I can get the orange juice!" Caboose shouted, standing up.

"It's fine. I got this." I sighed, pressing my thumb against the revealed bone and pulling at my fingers in order to return parts to their original place.

"Gross." Tucker's tone sounded disgusted.

I looked over my hand, praying for it to heal. I've done it before, I know that, but I just can't. Something else happened, instead.

A small flame began to engulf my hand, melting the torn skin into place.

"How did you-" Simmons started.

"Let's leave, now." Grif came storming out of the gas station.

"The hell's wrong with you?" Tucker still held anger in his tone.

I reached over to the remains of my right glove, the piece crumbling between my fingers.

"Guess I don't need that." I scoffed.

* * *

"We could chisel through." I crouched onto the ground, an endothermic glove around my hand in order to keep the circulation flowing in this cold temperature.

"That'd take too much time." Tucker sighed, tapping his foot, "We need something really damn stupid to get away with this."

"We could knock on the door?" Grif suggested, a light chuckle at the end of his words.

"Too dumb."

I pressed my hand against the ice, "How cold is it, out here?"

"It's gotta be negative forty degrees Celsius." Simmons responded to me.

"Negative forty Centigrade? Jesus." I sighed, turning my head over my shoulder, "We could probably melt it."

Grif and Tucker looked at me with a look of utter confusion.

"That's negative forty degrees Fahrenheit." Simmons sighed, crouching down in front of me.

The men winced, complaining about the way below freezing temperature.

"What about friction?" Tucker suggested, tone sly as usual, "The ladies always tell me I-"

"Friction's not gonna work." I pulled my glove off, pressing my fingertips against the unbearable cold.

"What are you doing?" Grif laughed, noticing this as a more masochistic action.

"I'm trying to see if I can burn hot, but not catch on fire." I sighed, watching my hand go transparent, "Not quite what I wanted."

"What kind of super human are you?" Simmons watched, somewhat interested.

"As far as I can tell, I just absorb the ability of those I touch." I sighed, holding my hand in front of me, "I still don't have the hang of it, though."

"We knew someone with super strength," Caboose spoke in a loud whisper, "she used to nap a lot."

I think he doesn't understand the whole "raising from the dead" concept.

A fire lit around my exposed hand. Painful, but not flesh-melting, this time, "This is probably the best we're going to get." I sighed, drawing a quick circle, the size of a manhole. I then stood at the end, retracing the circle a little deeper. Once the ice became thin, I shoved my heel into the center, the ice falling.

"Freak." Tucker mocked me, a joking manner heavy in him.

"I'd like to see you do better." I laughed, looking over my extinguished hand. _Healing ability and fire working at the same time? I guess I can count this as perfection,_ "You guys go ahead. I'll follow immediately after." I pulled the glove back over my hand.

* * *

I stood at the end of the tunnel, watching the guarded area next to our route.

"There is no way that we could make it." I sighed, my eyes directed to the door.

"We need to make as much noise as possible." Tucker suggested, looking over the piped that were lined up against the wall, "If we can cause enough trouble somewhere else, we can draw them away from the prison."

I let out a low chuckle, "That doesn't look like a detaining facility, to me."

"Worst case scenario, we end up in jail with everyone else and just wait for this whole civil war thing to blow over."

" I think worst case scenario is getting shot. Or Grif getting shot and we have to carry him." Simmons argued for a moment, "There's only four of us."

"Fuck it." Tucker turned to face our big, blue idiot, "Caboose, do your thing."

"Time to CLEAN THE PIPES!" Caboose shouted, banging down of every visible pipe.

An alarm began to go off, "Alert. Catastrophic breach detected in sewage pipeline. Sector 3."

"Is it bad that I find this oddly satisfying?" I laughed, tapping my fingers against my waist.

"Yes." Omega answered me, seeming somewhat preoccupied with something.

"Warning. Sewage breach detected in the barracks."

All the men outside began to scream, making a mad dash to wherever the barracks are.

"We're clear!" I shouted, sprinting to our destination.

I made it there in no time, Caboose immediately on my rear. Tucker and Simmons were next, Grif nearly about to collapse on his arrival.

"Alright." I sighed, tapping at the door.

"Simmons, do something about this door!" Tucker ordered the maroon.

"If you're expecting him to hack it, you guys were the ones who decided not to bring the tools in with you." I let out a slow stream of air, backing up a few steps, "If I could get this just right, then..." My words trailed off.

"Then what?" The man of maroon watched me, confused.

I watched the door, "Simmons, does it look like it could be better opened from the inside?"

"Maybe." The man looked between me and the heavy-duty door, "There doesn't seem to be any reason to have a code on the other side."

"Alright, then." I prepped myself into a running position, back foot ready to push me forward, "Wish me luck, then." I began to go at a full sprint, but the door began opening as I started, "Nope!" I shouted, stumbling over my own feet.

"Petrix, back up!" Tucker ordered me.

I did as I was told, pulling my gun in front of me.

As the door rose, helmets of familiarity began to show.

"Wash?"

"Tucker?"

I lowered my gun, taking notice of the man in orange and blue.

Dropping my weapon, I ran to the man, pulling him into an embrace.

"Well this is a surprise, coming from you." He laughed, patting my back.

"There's no fucking way you can tell it's me." I let out an airy laugh.

"Sam?"

"I was worried you died."

"You forgot I came here with you, huh?"

"Yup."

"And who's this?" Wash looked over at me, gun against my temple.

"Obviously, I'm not an enemy." I let out a dark chuckle, the man in steel and yellow taking a step back, "The name's Samantha Petrix. I've heard a lot about you, Agent Washington." I extended my hand to the all-too-familiar man, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He watched me for a moment, suspicion eminent in him, "The pleasure's mine." His tone wasn't pleased, but it carried a small amount of relief as he took my hand.

I took a silent moment, listening to my surroundings, "Hey, guys? When did the alarm turn off?"

"What?" Tucker took notice of the same situation, the reds and blues now rushing outside.

"You think it's-"

"Yeah." I sighed, watching the floor as Ale- I mean Thomas and I sauntered out of the cave, "Yeah, I think so."

"You want to see if we can find them?" He took a few steps in front of me before I grabbed his arm.

"I'm sorry." My voice was empty as I looked over the display of flipped vehicles and the absence of people.

"Sorry for what?" He laughed, pulling himself away from my grip.

"You'll see."


	17. The Deceit

For the first time in a while, I felt the fear of death. It's been too long since I last felt such a pointless thing.

"You'll be okay." My colleague of orange and blue took my left hand as we lowered our weapons. Of course, there's no point in him fearing the reaper either, but the horror still tints his tone.

"Like sheep in a pen," Locus appeared, weapon in hand and ready to shoot, "you're ready for slaughter."

I felt my heart sink, a lump developing in my throat.

"Locus!" Tucker's voice seeped with anger as he raised his DMR to the mercenary.

"I advise you to stand down, boy." How the hell do I know this douche? Do I repeat my training? Do I go to war? How I see it, I'm going to wish I didn't.

Men in black armor appeared next to Locus, their weapons aimed at us.

The only soldier that caught my attention was the one at his immediate left. Her body type. The flawless disguise. I recognize this woman.

"I told you, Agent Washington, I am a professional. I complete my missions at all costs." Strange... This guys doesn't seem like a monologue kind of guy, "But you, and your comrades have put a blemish on my record."

Tucker, who stood immediately in front of me, began to prepare a grenade. He was ready to throw it, the next chance he gets.

"This, is unacceptable."

"What are you talking about?" Wash shouted at the man, "You just killed the men you're working for!"

"It appears you don't understand after all. Unfortunate." He raised his gun, pointing it to Wash's head. I was prepared to run in front of the bullet, but my partner pulled me closer, "You were such a fascinating soldier, Agent Washington."

Tucker looked ready to throw the grenade, but I wasn't ready for the bloodshed. If I die, I'll just wake up. The abilities I've harbored, I don't know how they work, but I know they're not constantly running. I'd prefer to die with these men, rather than see them dead.

The shot went off, my eyes shut less than a second before.

"Tucker! Grenade!" A voice of familiarity began to shout. My eyes cracked open, Felix in front of the living Agent Washington, hard light shield activated. Maybe he does have the orders of genocide, but I guess he does have a soft spot for these guys.

Upon receiving the explosive item, he began to laugh almost maniacally, the shield disappearing, "Ah, that was close! Nice throw, Tucker!"

My grip became tight, Al- Quin flinching under the mass pressure.

"How many times have I jumped in front of a bullet for you, Wash? Three?" The man of steel and orange was nearly cackling, "Those are some pretty great reflexes, huh? Most people would have to, plan that sort of thing."

"Felix, what are you doing?" Wash's voice continued with it's anger. He's been deceived more than once in just one day. I guess, though, that's not the last of it for the next while.

"Just helping out an old acquaintance." He laughed, throwing the grenade toward Locus, "You missed a spot."

Locus looked over the explosive before handing it to the woman at his left.

I watched the soldier, letting out a slow sigh. I slowly brought my right hand up to my chest, fingers in a fist and thumb pointing upward, as I proceeded to draw a small circle, counterclockwise. An apology is the least I could give her, and this is the only way I can.

She knew I was talking to her. She tends to have a knack for that. All she did, though, was stand their, unable to respond. I can't blame her, for I am another at fault. Another she'll have to fight. Possibly another she'll need to kill.

"He betrayed us." Simmons spoke quietly behind us, regret heavy in his tone.

"And if you think this couldn't possibly get any worse," Felix extended his hand, seeming as if it were to anyone, "let me be the one to introduce your backstabber."

The Reds and Blues looked between each other, the question of "who's the traitor," stirring in their brains. Who's in it for the money? The power? The recognition? All tempting things.

Even the kindest of souls could fall.

My fingers slipped away from Quin's. I can't turn back, now.

"Petrix?" The man of orange watched me, as if pleading that this reality wasn't a thing.

I proceeded a few steps forward, hand reaching for my assault rifle.

"Whoop-de-doo." Tucker gave us a slow clap, "You've managed to get a rebel on your team. Are you proud of yourselves?"

"Tucker." My voice wavered for a moment. I have made my decision, and now there's no chance of redemption, "I-"

"You know, I was actually starting to like you." He gave me a push.

I fell at Felix's feet, unable to force tears out. I don't regret this.

"Samantha Petrix." He spat the words out, as if they were molten iron, "Is that even your real name? Who are you really?"

I took Felix's hand, him helping me back to my feet. I then looked toward Locus, the woman next to him clenching her fists tight.

"Are you going to tell him?" Omega spoke through my speakers. He's the only thing that's stuck with me through any decision. He's my reasoning, not telling me what to do but making sure it truly is the path I wish to cross.

"I guess this is as proper of a goodbye as I'll get." I sighed, my hands shaking. Fear. Fear of death. Fear of what is to come. Fear of if I'll be seen as the wonderful, sane woman I can be.

"Just make it quick." Locus spoke in an impatient tone.

I grit my teeth reaching my fingers to my chin, "I was somebody, yet now I am no one. I once fought for great reasons, though the battle with myself has just begun."

"Yeah, yeah. Enough with the poetics." Tucker began to grow impatient, "Just answer the question."

My thumb pushed at the tab at the bottom of my helmet, the air hissing as it escaped into the atmosphere, "My name is Samantha Petrix, at least it is anymore." I pulled my helmet off, fingers quickly checking the messy bun of my dark brown hair, a red streak trailing through, "Thought I believe you used to know me by a different name." I watched the men in front of me, a crooked smile beginning to form within my features.

I reached down to the ground, leaving the helmet in front of me and pulling the hockey puck shaped modification out of the back.

I proceeded to watch Tucker, a pressure building up in my head and eyes, "I'm sorry that it's come to this." I sighed, taking a few steps back. I looked off into the distance, a woman of white and purple attempting to run as a man in plain white held her back. The former's Emily Grey, I'm almost positive of that, but the latter... is it possible to be Lazerus. Only time may tell.

"Now, Gentlemen," Felix laughed, taking a bow, "we hope you enjoyed our show, but we regret to inform you that you won't be making it out of here, alive." He backed himself up, patting me on the shoulder, "They're gone on your mark."

"Why on my mark?" I hissed, pushing him to the side.

"Well, now that you're confirmed alive, you order the trigger." He laughed at me, "Come on! You can't possibly be attached to these morons."

Disappointment. Shame. Confusion. I knew the men in front of me held these emotions toward me.

My first friend in this universe. My leader. My lover. The woman who's seen me as one of her rivals. The "enemy." The two I left to die. The man that I saved from eternity of mental instability. They're all here to see what I've become.

Let them.

"You know," I raised my hand above me, fingers open, "I've been treated like shite, since I've landed here." The second I close my fingers, they're as good as dead, "About two days ago, I thought this whole 'era of mass destruction' thing was just another kind of evil in this universe. Looking back, I just wish I had made up my mind sooner." That crooked grin returned to me, "I could easily see why this shit-hole needs to be uninhabited."

"You're not going to do this!" Tucker yelled at me, forcing a lump into my throat, "We know you! You'd never do this!"

"You'd be surprised as to what I can do, Captain." I spat out the last word with a toxin venom, for it burned me too much, "Your betrayal was the worse. You proved through your own actions that you were never in it for me." I felt my fingers twitch, "Every day, and every hardship, you'd be there for Walker. If she was sick, if she was too injured to fight, or if she decided she wasn't going to give a damn, you'd drop everything to help... But once she was out of the picture, and poor little Petrix came along with the same. fucking. personality. You never gave a shit about me, Tucker!"

...

I... can't do this.

This won't do me any justice.

The sound of a gunshot rang through the air, a searing pain going through the entirety of my arm.

I looked up, teeth grit and anger evident in my eyes. The white soldier stood probably one hundred and fifty feet from me, DMR in hand.

"Locus!" I shouted, turning my upper body behind me, but the woman to his left sprung into action.

She dropped the grenade and jumped off the ledge, landing between me and Felix.

"Bitch." I laughed, swinging my leg over.

She caught it with no hesitation, throwing me to the ground, "I could say the same to you."

Felix charged her, knife in hand. She took him to the ground, forcing his wrist against the concrete.

I pulled out my magnum, shooting at the back of her knee in hopes of tearing her popliteus and maybe the meniscus.

As she shrieked in pain, Felix pushed her to the Reds and Blue.

We tried to fire our weapons, finally ending this pointless feud, but she was one step ahead of me. She always was.

"Well shit." Felix began to growl under his breath, popping his shoulder back into place.

I turned to face Locus once again, voice seething with anger, "What are you waiting for?!" I began to shout, "Call Control!"


	18. Who Am I Really?

I never thought I could cry so little in my life. There used to be a day where that was all I knew how.

"How?!" Felix shouted, pacing back and forth as we wait for Control to become available, "How did we just _let_ them slip right between our fingers?!"

I sat on the floor, buffing my deadeye helmet with a rag.

Omega hasn't spoken to me in a while. Perhaps he's just finding the words to say. Though my old helmet was left outside, I could still hear the hum of the AI in my earpiece.

He let out a frustrated grunt, throwing a knife through the visor of a dead Fed, "Oh, ooohhh, wonderful. Duped by a Freelancer posing as one of our own men. Can you TASTE the irony in that!?"

"If you've kept your ego under control, they'd be dead by now." Locus huffed, waiting in front of the monitor.

"Okay, no, we don't have the facts to prove that, alright? So let's not, y'know, start throwin' blame out, or anything, okay, please? Thank you. You're welcome."

"Stop talking."

"Gentlemen." A somewhat metallic voice went off, hidden by multiple synthetic modulations as the monitor began to illuminate with its words.

I stood up, holding my helmet to my side as I approached the screen.

"Oh, Miss Petrix? What a pleasure it is for you to be joining us once more." No tone's identifiable through this person, "Perhaps it truly is your perseverance as to why you are the best for hire."

I bit the corner of my lip, forcing no words to leak.

"Well, back to business." They let out a sigh, "Though I'm inclined to further chastise you for your most recent failure, I suggest we focus on the opportunity at hand."

"Opportunity?" My eyes began to narrow, fingertips pressing against the metal of the console, "What kind of opportunity can come out of this?"

"The Reds and Blues are missing."

"Yeah. Tell us something we don't know."

"It won't be long before my scout team finds them." Locus put his hand on my shoulder, pushing me back a step.

"Perhaps." They left a short pause, as if briefly contemplating the situation, "But all that truly matters is that you prevent them from making contact with their armies."

"We got snipers shadowing the generals as we speak." Felix spoke in an irritable tone.

"Marvelous." This person called Control continued, "Then you are to report back to your respective armies, and report the deaths of the Reds and Blues. They will become the martyrs needed to push these people towards one, final confrontation. Do i make myself clear?

"Crystal." I sighed, the monitor turning off.

"Great." Felix turned fast over his shoulder, walking toward the fallen Fed, "I'll see you guys later, I guess." He yanked the knife out of the helmet visor, walking out of the base.

"Perhaps you may want this back." Locus reached over to the opposite side of the console, unplugging a drive.

The drive was old, plated with damaged metal and two well-known letters seared onto it.

"That's... not possible." I took it from his hand, "I dropped this a week ago. Kimball has it."

"And now you have it back." He too turned over his shoulder in order to leave, "I hope that we can entrust you to watch over this place. There are plenty of things in the labs you can toy with. We'll relocate, later."

"And I hope you're not leaving me alone." I laughed, crossing my arms over my chest.

He stopped at the doorway, turning his head toward me, "I left some men outside, in the event of danger." And just like that, he was gone.

I held the drive in front of my eyes, visually tracing the two letters.

I walked over to my pile of red and black armor, in desperate need of repair. Kneeling down, I curled my fingers around my knife and tore through the letters no longer me.

Instead, I turned the drive around, carving SP into the plating.

"You haven't had a psychotic episode in a year," Omega's tone seemed terse. There was more he wanted to say, "yet you were able to snap so easily."

"Yes," I confirmed his words, "and this is my isolation. I even have some guards, outside."

"Michele I-"

"Don't you call me that!" I hissed through my teeth, my head snapping toward the sound of my AI.

"Remind me to get you psychoanalyzed when this all blows over." He let out a sigh, "That drive has two hundred thirty-seven terabytes, last I checked."

"That'll last me generations!" I laughed, standing up once again and making way for the monitor, "Let's see what this baby has in store."

Once plugged in, I scrolled through the files. A lot were in hexadecimal. Things that would take too long to look through; things that I made so that I can stop myself from finding out.

"No. Fucking. Way." I let out an airy laugh, clicking the folder labeled Spartan_Operative_Research, "This... I..."

"Dr. Halsey's research is in here." Omega's tone remained hallow. Lifeless.

"'Reducing risk of neural disconnect.' 'Thought translating into motion.' What's this?" I opened a video, watching the screen intently.

A man was being fitted for your typical MJOLNIR armor.

"Power on." Someone spoke from off the screen, "Move your right arm, please."

His arm moved with incredible speed, the soldier's expression no longer stoic. He began to scream as his arm moved uncontrollably, body spasming and armor reacting in drastic motions. The sound of bones breaking echoed through the rooms and halls of this snow base, striking some sort of emotion in me. Fear? No. Anger? Not that, either. It was joy.

The screen then turned off, courtesy of the Omega AI.

"Perhaps you should continue with working on your armor." He spoke in a low voice.

"Yeah." I laughed, gladly complying, "Yeah, I'll do that, but first I wanna rifle through some more of this."

Oddly enough, no one came in to check up on me, as I hummed cheerfully between to gory videos and the wiring sounds of my armor. What have I learned about my future in the past?

Well, let's just say there's a whole lot of blood and gore in my future.

...

And I will eventually hate myself for it.


	19. It Doesn't Quite Add Up

"Wow. Someone really went to town, here." Felix laughed as he approached me.

I turned the volume down at the console, spinning around in my chair and sipping from a can of soda.

"I raided some of the rooms." I laughed, "Luckily I was in armor... I had to clean a lot of shit."

"Shoulda stopped them from breaking the pipes."

"They needed to make contact."

"You're the boss." He laughed, pulling his helmet off and taking a can from under my seat.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm saving those for a special occasion!" I kicked him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble.

"It's just one beer!"

"Just one beer could easily become ten, and then twenty, and then we'll have a stumbling drunkard meandering around the base!" I crossed my arms over my chest, crushing the now-empty soda can.

"I can assure you, that won't happen." He pulled the tab on the can up, laughing his ass off, "I could say the same for you! Let's not forget Cinco de Mayo!"

I laughed, turning my chair back to the console, "Yeah. My drunk ass couldn't even find the bathroom." I stopped for a moment, "You... were never there."

"Oh." He stood at my side, watching the monitor, "So there was another time?"

"Where's Locus?" I sighed, trying to change the topic. Yes, he knows more about me than I myself, but does that mean I want to know? Hell, I find pleasure in agony, anymore. Maybe I'm not ready to find out just how sadistic I become.

"Probably on his way." His eyes narrowed to the monitor, "Then again, probably not. Where is that camera located."

"It's a drone." I laughed, noticing the look of confusion in my partner's (that word being used loosely) eyes, "I had time, so I built one."

"Were the hell did you get the supplies?"

I turned my head to face opposite of him, "The metal plating the walls is fairly malleable." I let out an airy laugh.

"Why the hell would she do that?" The voice came from the piece in my ear, but it was not my AI.

I glanced over to Felix, praying he didn't hear that.

"She's an evil woman." A female voice went off, causing my shoulders to go stiff, "She _abandoned_ us, remember? Why are you surprised?"

"I spent ten years with her, and I knew her a bit longer than that." A drawn out sigh was overheard, "Maybe she's jumped a lot. There could've been a hundred years between her and us. There's nothing in the world that could easily sway her. It'd have to take time."

"You said she's had psychotic episodes, before." Another male voice, "Washington even confirmed that. Hell, she screams more in her sleep than a mental patient in a day."

"Sam!" Felix clapped his hands in front of my eyes, "What's gotten into you."

"N... nothing." I sighed, taking the earpiece out.

"Are you looking for their radio channel?"

I bit the inside of my cheek for a moment, "I... kinda... stuck a transmitter on one of them."

"Even better." He laughed, "So you can send people to their hideout."

"It's not that easy." I sighed, "We have to play this strategically."

"Holly shit." He face quickly went from joyous to cold, "You actually care about those idiots."

"It's... I..." I stopped myself, "I just don't want any more blood on my hands, alright? I've already wronged each and every one of them... and then I betrayed them... I'm not going to be responsible for their deaths."

"Hate to break it to you, but there's a lot more blood on your hands than you know." He gave me a low chuckle, "Probably even more than I know."

"I'm sure there is." My head lowered to my collar bone, my fingers winding in on each other, "Legal murder does sound like something I would do as an excuse." I glanced up at him, eyes narrowing to the man, "Who was my first kill?"

"Wow. You want to know your future that badly?" He laughed at me.

"No, if I had ever known you, I would've told you my first kill. That's a vow I'm going to keep with me for now on." My expression sank as I lifted up my head, "Let me repeat. Who. Was. My. First. Kill."

"Listen girly, when we found you, you had amnesia." He quickly raised his hands as I pointed my gun to him, "You were a complete mess with Locus taking care of you. We fed you our rations. I gave you my bed. Locus would stay behind on missions to make sure you wouldn't be shot." He didn't even flinch when I pulled back on the hammer, "When you did remember as little as you did, you blatantly _refused_ to tell us what was going on. Years later, I honestly have no clue about your history."

My finger twitcher over the trigger. Why would I do that? Especially knowing that later in the timeline I would have doubt. Some things aren't quite adding up, but some how I just don't understand how.

"You've gotta believe me when I say we're really good friends. I would _never_ betray you, Gal."

I fired my gun, intentionally missing him by half an inch.

"Let that be a warning." I growled under my breath, unplugging my drive from the giant monitor and walking out of the room.


	20. Unlike Us

"We need a plan of action." I sighed, spinning in my chair.

"Can this not wait until after we relocate?" Locus stood at the doorway, motioning to my stack of luggage.

"Let me take this chair with?"

"It is drilled into the floor."

I looked down at my hands, picking at my cuticles, "Then no, it cannot wait."

"How old are you?" He folded his arms over his chest, probably narrowing his eyes to me.

"Technically twenty." I laughed, holding my hand out in front of me.

"Twenty?" Felix stepped into the room, "That's-"

"Impossible." Locus finished.

"Impossible?" My interest had peaked, my fingers curling into a fist, "How would that be impossible? Meeting you guys, I probably would've been more honest and said..." My head rolled to face the ceiling, "Fuck... How old am I, now? Fifty?"

"Fifty?!" Felix nearly screeched, the both of them seemingly taken aback.

"Do you..." I watched them for a moment, "Did... did I not..." I looked down at my hands, flashes of splattered blood going through my head. _My_ blood, from my last non-intentional jump, "If..." I squeezed my hands into balls, clenching my teeth, "If I actually met you... and I actually trusted you... Then I would've _told_ you."

"Told us what?!" The man of Scout armor began to flail his arms, "You were _sixteen_ when we met you! Are you expecting us to believe that even thoughyou don't know who we are, you're just suddenly twenty!"

"Felix." Locus started, tone strict.

"Oh, wait. It only gets better." He laughed, "You're _fifty._ You really expect us to believe that bull what we saw you die at age forty-two?!"

"Felix!" Locus snapped.

"I..." I looked over my hands again, knuckles white. I guess I've never really took into consideration how hurt people tend to get with death. It's something I've just learned to accept, I guess. I used to reanimate, so I always came back. Then there was the jumping. I'm always alive again after death, no matter the case... but how does that make others feel, "I'm... sorry for your loss."

"Sorry?!" He let out a dry laugh, "Sorry doesn't help your cocky ass on the battlefield."

There's only one way I could reassure them... but I don't want to now. It takes too long to come back from.

"Yeah." I spoke in a defeated manner, "I guess you're right." My eyes tiredly followed the scars that ran up my arms and down my hands. The most memorable, oddly enough, were the scars on my knuckles alone. Super strength. Of course it was a smart idea to not have indestructibility with it. Countless times have I broken my knuckles, the bone ripping through the thin layer of skin.

I never thought _this_ kind of stuff would turn out to be my life. I remember bits and pieces of college. What was I there for? Forensics? That sounds about right. Damn... my days went straight from constant studies to fist fights. What a drastic change.

A hiss escaped Felix's teeth as he began to tap his foot, "You don't think they'll try to contact the military, right?" He mutter at a volume barely possible to hear.

"No." Locus gave a snippy answer.

I looked down at my lap, gently tapping my fingertips against the polished titanium of my helmet. I then reached for the implant at the back of my neck. One of the same, yet somehow different. Like this armor has seen its battles, so have I. Destined for war and demise. One day, this armor may end up of no use... and so will I... but how much longer will I hold out?

I closed my eyes for a moment, reaching for my earpiece.

"-ks like he's not gonna budge." Lazerus's voice was the first I had heard, before the sounds of stomping and grunting.

"I can take care of it!" Emily chimed.

"Hey. Sam." Felix waved his hand in front of my eyes, "You said you got a bug on them, right? How would you even manage to do that?"

"I... got a friend." I laughed dryly, turning the volume on the device down.

"You mean you got someone who's willing to go traitor?"

I opened my mouth to talk, quickly closing it in the process.

"Well?"

"No." I answered quickly, gritting my teeth.

I stood up, beginning to put my armor over my body, "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up."

The man in scout armor shrugged, a chuckle escaping his throat, "You sure? You got a lot of baggage to take care o-"

"I got it." I kept my tone flat, strapping my chest plate into place.

Thankfully, they left without questions.

"Omega?" I muttered, after waiting a long enough time.

The AI appeared in front of me, form seeming lazily formed, "What?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Some of it."

"Some of it?!" My voice raised before realizing my error. I carefully watched the exit before speaking again, "I thought I told you to listen to all ongoing conversations?"

"And what's wrong?"

What's wrong?" I scoffed, trying to force my volume quiet, "They didn't even know you existed. How is that not a problem?"

He stood there for a moment, his form becoming... brighter? It began to look more complete, is perhaps a better way of saying it, "And these guys you meet in your distant future, is what you're thinking?"

"I'm beginning to think I have no future with them. As far as we know, they're just looking at my records, something of which you are not recorded in. My guess is that Emily got pissy and decided to rat us out for being able to ju-"

"Or... maybe you do actually know them and made it sure to not mention me?" He began to suggest.

"If I knew this would be a big problem of mine, then I wouldn't have _not_ mentioned some important facts, and I sure as hell wouldn't-"

"But what if you did." His words remained calm, though creating a piercing silence, "By the looks of this whole situation, there are a lot of things that seem very unlike you, but look at the proof. The external drive. You burned into that some time ago, but the drive they gave you, the exact same one, was presented with years of wear. You can't just fake that."

"You're supposed to be hateful and spiteful!" I tried my best to keep myself from being too loud, my throat stinging from the strain, "You're the one who's supposed to be wary, not tell me to go with the first opportunity available."

"Listen, Michele, I-"

"Samantha..." I sneered, "Michele's the name of someone loyal to her friends."

He released a drawn sigh, impressive for someone without lungs, "Samantha... There's something... that I've been meaning to tell you... but I-"

"Tick tock, Sweatheart!" Felix shouted from down the hall, "If you're having troubles carrying anything, just let me know. That's why you got muscle on your team."

"We'll get back to that later." I sneered, walking toward the pile of luggage, "Alright, Pal?"

He float there for a second, hands curling into balls at his sides, "... Alright." He muttered, dissipating from this plane of existence.

Now there's another thing that seems odd, lately. He seemed... hesitant. Guess there's a lot here that just seem unlike us.


End file.
